


Someone to Call My Own

by UnicornAffair



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers Megaforce
Genre: F/F, Megaforce characters have no powers, Set in 2017 Movie Verse, background Cranscott and Kimack, gets a lil'Mrating ish at a certain part
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-02-23 09:29:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13187220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: Three years had gone by since the team first got together, Trini loved her friends more than anything...but when Jason and Billy, and Kimberly and Zack got together she suddenly felt like the fifth wheel. Being a Power Ranger became the only interesting thing Trini had going for her, a secret that no one could know. Why bother care about Trini, a girl going no where, when she could be the Yellow Ranger? That was until she met a cute photographer from Harwood County, a girl who could break her rough exterior and make her smile. The only hitch? Zordon's rules, dating a civilian meant constantly trying to cover up her big secret as the Yellow Ranger.





	1. Meet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jadedsunshine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadedsunshine/gifts).



> So this is the last of my holiday fics that I am writing. This one is for my friend Jadedsunshine who loved the idea of Trini/Emma as a couple so for the holidays I am dedicating this piece of work to her. I don't know how she always puts up with me, but she's been there helping me get through a really rough couple of months and I can't really thank her enough so <3 <3 <3 Merry (albeit belated) Christmas you have been such a wonderfully fantastic friend :)

It had been three years since the Power Rangers first came together as a team to defeat the likes of Rita Repulsa. As the villainess predicted others would come for the zeo crystals power, some were powerful aliens like the terrifying Lord Zedd others were more of a joke with enough power to hurt innocent people. Time and time again the five teenagers had defeated their enemies...they had gotten better at trying to reduce the property damage by taking the fights away from the general public. Rita had the advantage of being connected to them by the green power coin, it didn’t take her long to find the location of the zeo crystal. The other aliens had an entire world to search, which took battles away from Angel Grove.

As far as the team went...Jason and Kimberly _tried_ to have a romantic relationship shortly after the team had formed. That lasted for a good month or so before they came to realize they were better off as best friends. The two remained close as ever, the others in the group joked that they were the team parents. She and Trini were the ones who helped Jason through his confusing feelings for Billy and coming to the realization of his bisexuality. The red and blue ranger danced around with the idea of being a couple for so long that the other three had to run some interference just to get them on a date.

The team had graduated around the time the Machine Empire had declared war on Earth, and the Power Rangers. Now that was a mess. The group of five couldn’t even enjoy surviving high school long enough before the world was in danger _again_ . By then the team were world phonemina, saviors, guardians, a mystery group of heroes...and to some platforms perfect tabloid fodder. _Everyone_ was curious about the mystery team, who were they? More importantly who on the team were dating one another based on obscured photos from cell phones after a fray. Black and Yellow? Blue and Pink? Most of the mainstream tabloids focused on the heterosexual pairings but the internet had other ideas. Black and Red? Pink and Yellow? Boy would they be surprised to hear that the group were barely adults and that the team leader was madly in love with the blue ranger.

When Zack’s mother had passed not too long after graduation, that was when Kimberly and Zack had gotten close... _very_ close. Of course the others were right there by his side through the worst day of his life. Jason would take him out for drinks to keep his mind off of his loss, Billy would connect with him with stories of his dad and what that was like, Trini made sure he kept eating, for someone who he could break down with. It was Kimberly who lit up his life again, to feel _something_ other than sorrow. While the others helped him with coping with his loss, Kim was the one who took him out on the world...the pterodactyl zord allowed her to go _anywhere_ and just _experience_ something other than Angel Grove and the painful memories. She showed him the _thrill_ of living, just what the doctor had ordered, and through their adventures they found love that ran deeper than friendship. Their first kiss was in Paris, by the Eiffel Tower at night...the tower lit up beautifully that he couldn’t pass up the moment.

With Jason and Billy and Zack and Kimberly hooking up with one another it left Trini in a bit of an awkward position. She loved her friends, they became a second family to her when her own family had a hard time accepting her. Trini was _so_ happy that they found happiness in one another. When Billy and Jason got together in high school it was fine, great even. She, Kimberly and Zack could be the three musketeers and do their own thing on nights where the boyfriends wanted to back out on the group hang out and have a date. Now that Kimberly and Zack were together, it made Trini feel like a bit of a fifth wheel. As ridiculous as it sounded being the _only_ single person in a group of couples could suck. There was a constant reminder that she didn’t have someone to come home to every night.

Balancing being a Power Ranger and having an actual functioning life outside of school actually proved to be a bit difficult. Billy and Kimberly moved out of Angel Grove to attend San Diego State University, the blue and pink rangers lived together in an apartment off campus and had just completed their freshman year. It left Zack, Jason and Trini to protect their hometown. The three rangers had okay family relations, poor family relations, or no family at all, so they all got jobs in town and rented out a house by the mountains. They wanted a place close to the base. Most problems could be handled with just the three rangers, if they needed the extra help Billy and Kim were only an hour or so away. During the school year, the blue and pink rangers came home every weekend to spend time with their boyfriends, them and their favorite yellow ranger. Kimberly did her best to make Trini not to feel lost in the shuffle, she made it a point to have girls nights to catch up on her best friend. Now that it was summer vacation, Billy and Kimberly could visit more often. They certainly weren’t in high school anymore, but still remained as tight knit as ever.

Jason was able to get a job working under his father on his boat, Mr. Scott was quick to hire him and Zack, two strong young guys made for good deck hands. Jason and his father managed to start having a good relationship after the battle with Rita, something in Sam Scott had changed. Trini on the other hand worked at a bar called the Hook located by the docks as a waitress. It wasn’t the most ideal place, the clientele were mostly fishermen and locals, the same people day after day. Mr. Scott actually became one of her regulars over time. Her manager and owner of the place, was super flexible with her during times of emergency, as was Sam with his son and best friend. As a Power Ranger, it was anyone’s guess to when the next intergalactic threat would pop up... having someone who understood and didn’t hold it against her was a _blessing_ . Carrying a secret identity and trying to earn a paycheck to pay rent _sucked_.

Trini finally had a freaking day off, and it had been a long time since she had a chance to come up into the mountains and do yoga to the sweet sweet sounds of heavy metal in her ears. She used this time to reflect on her life, how she was feeling that day, an opportunity to get her thoughts sorted out. Zack and Jason were out on the boat, so she had the house to herself that night. When there _wasn’t_ a crisis happening, there were long lulls, they had to be regular people and go through the day to day motions. Trini had the same customers, the same co-workers the same shifts. She considered maybe taking night classes, doing something else, instead of looking _forward_ to fights. She loved being the yellow ranger, but life as Trini? That was at a complete standstill, a lull. For being a part of such a tight knit friend family, she felt a pang in her chest, an emptiness...loneliness.

There was an odd rumble beneath her feet, causing her to turn her music off, heavy metal was always intense but it was never at a semisc level. Now wasn’t the time for tree pose. Being at the top of one of the tallest rock formation gave her a great vantage point to see what was the _cause_ of such a rumble. Straight out of Dorothy’s nightmares, up ahead a skyscraper sized blue monkey with golden armor and wings. Aliens came in all shapes and sizes but this one? It must be trying to locate the zeo crystal through vibrations. _Fantastic_ . Trini quickly got out her phone to call Jason and alert him to the trouble. This monkey looked _fierce,_ she would need the help of the local boys and their zords to take it down. 3 on 1 was much better odds.

“Hello?”

“Jason! I need you and Zack immediately, we’ve got trouble around the mines”

“How bad are we talking?”

“Think King Kong, if King Kong was blue had wings and fucking armor...is that?” Trini narrowed her eyes, “...Oh it has a sword...because why not?” It’s a soldier giant blue monkey. Fun. Being a Power Ranger was never dull. “Come as quick as you can before it causes an-” Her eyes widened as the colossal sized ape flew up even higher and slammed itself down making the ground shake with such an intensity it made the yellow ranger lose her balance. She fell from her high vantage point and straight through the rocky surface below into a cave.

“Oh motherfucker” She groaned, laying on her back on a pile of rubble, staring up at the Trini sized hole she left in the ceiling, it was official...she _hated_ monkeys. Having super crazy ranger durability _she_ was fine, her phone? Not so much, it shattered in her hand on the way down as she kept a tight grip on it. Double fuck. Getting replacement cell phones was one of the most tedious processes ever, the rangers had to do it constantly because of dumb reasons quite like this. Whatever, that was fine, she was a Power Ranger, all she had to do was get onto her feet and super jump out of the hole she created and join the others, it was as simple as that.

Only when Trini got to her feet and dusted herself off she was startled by a young woman’s voice, she wasn’t alone here in this cave. “Hello? Is someone else there?” She sounded so weak and small, if Trini had a couple of seconds she could morph into the yellow ranger and save the day like a champion. Luck wasn’t on her side today, as the voice became a physical presence and stepped into the light. A completely dust covered girl with dark hair, a jean jacket pink shorts, with a fancy camera around her neck greeted Trini with a weak smile, relieved that she wasn’t alone in this situation. “...The entrance to the cave is blocked off…”

Trini and this girl looked up to the hole in the ceiling, the only way they could possibly get out on their _own_ was to go straight up. The poor girl was still a bit dazed and stunned by the sudden Earthquake, she favored her right arm and cradled her left in her delicate hand. There was _no_ way she would be able to make that sort of climb with an injury. “Shit” To be a powerless power ranger, she couldn’t do _anything_ to reveal her identity which meant she was regular old boring dumb can’t jump through a mountain Trini. “Do you have your phone? A rock crushed mine”

“It’s dead, I brought an external charger but” She felt a bit foolish, “I forgot to charge it before coming” Great so they had no contact with the outside world. Way to go camera girl.

Another rumble followed by several smaller rumbles from above ground Jason and Zack must have arrived on the scene with their Zords to take on this giant monkey, good. The pounding of the Earth below such colossal titans, caused more rocks to dislodge.  On hero instinct, Trini was careful not to touch the stranger’s shoulder; instead she went for an arm around the waist to pull her out of the way of danger. The yellow ranger’s experienced eye on the sharp stalactites up above their head. Having trained so much in the pit the rangers were used to the rock formations falling on a heavy impact of a sparring session. “It’s okay, I’ve got you”

“...Wow I…” Her companion blinked, shocked that she could have been crushed for the _second_ time today, “Thank you” The two girls breathed in tandem, Trini’s arm still wrapped intimately around the stranger until she deemed it was safe again. The quakes intensity dulled down, and like thunder following a lightning crack, Trini was able to tell that the battle above ground was getting further and further away from them. “I’m Emma by the way” The yellow ranger had been so distracted by the potential of falling rock spikes that she didn’t realize the civilian was talking to her.

“Huh? Oh” Trini rubbed the back of her neck, she didn’t realize how _close_ they were actually standing until just now. She took a step back to give Emma a bit more of a personal bubble, “Trini” Her eyes traveled down, having three years of being a ranger under her belt she could tell what a dislocated shoulder looked like. “Here, let me pop that back in for you”

“Uhhh” The other girl didn’t want to come off as rude but what qualifications did Trini have to just casually offer to adjust her shoulder?...Her freaking _bones_ were at stake. “Are you sure you can do that?” She bit her lip, unsure, her day had been rocked enough as it was.

“I uhm” Trini wasn’t quick on her feet when it came to her secret identity. She was just a _waitress_ and dealt with the same people day after day, this kind of thing just never came up. “I uh do roller derby and this kinda thing happens all the time” Where the _fuck_ did that come from? Emma glanced Trini over, checking her out, the contact sport at least came off as impressive. “No big deal” The last thing she wanted was for her to worry, all they needed to do was wait it out for Jason and Zack.

As if that gave her more credibility, the other girl nodded, she was in too much pain to really think it through much further, “Okay, sure, if you’re sure”

“I’m sure” Trini reassured her, “Here lets sit you down” She carefully guided Emma toward a well lit portion of the cave, close to where Trini originally fell in from. Trini was able to sit the other girl down, even covered in dust from the cave in she somehow radiated beauty---nope, not what she should be focusing on. Be the hero, save the girl. Trini sat across from her trying to be as gentle with her as possible...she wasn’t a fellow ranger, she was just a human girl. The yellow ranger needed to focus on not using _too_ much of her strength or else she could potentially break her shoulder _off_ . “I want you to look at me” Direct unflinching eye contact with the pretty girl wasn’t the _best_ plan, “This is going to hurt” She warned, hating this part of it, but it was for the greater good until a doctor could get an actual look at her shoulder...Trini was her best shot. “I’m going to count down from three”

“Right, okay” Emma closed her eyes and took in a sharp breath when her new acquaintance, Trini, rested a hand gently on her dislodged shoulder, “Ow” She _already_ could feel the pain and let out a small whimper, “I’m sorry, I know, just do it” She opened her eyes and looked into Trini’s with determined trusting brown eyes. “Three”

Trini stared straight ahead, confidence and comfort were her two biggest goals here, “Two”

“One and a half” Emma anticipated Trini lying and going earlier than three, when she didn’t the civilian closed her eyes. She tried to be brave and power through this but she knew it was going to hurt really bad.

Poor thing, “One” As _gently_ as her powers allowed her, Trini pushed Emma’s shoulder back into place with a chilling pop sound followed by Emma yelping in pain. The worst of this was over, “You’re okay, you’re okay” Trini reached over to rub the girl’s _good_ arm, trying to soothe her as she rode the pain out. “It’s done, you’re going to be just fine”

Emma still had her eyes shut, nodding her head, breathing heavily through her nose as she tried to put a brave face on. Trini was apparently a roller derby girl, which meant she was tough, she didn’t want to be coming off like a weak girl who couldn’t do anything. “It hurts” She stated the obvious, “I’ll be okay, thank you” She opened her eyes again, a single tear streaming down her face from holding in the brunt of the pain. With a dust covered hand she wiped her face, leaving a nice hand shaped smudge on her cheek. “What were you doing in the caves anyway?” She asked, if they were stuck they might as well get to know each other, conversation could distract her from the pain. “Are you hungry? I have granola bars in my bag”

“I’m okay right now, we should save those for later if we’re here long” Now she was coming off as a freaking roller derby park ranger survivalist, why did Emma have to ask her about her life? She couldn’t say she was doing yoga at the top of the peak...then she’d explain how she wound up in her flat on her back and not _dead_ on impact. “I wanted to check out the…” What was found deep inside a cave? “Bats” She wanted to mentally slap herself for that one, great, add weird bat-enthusiast to her list of strange qualities. “You?” She turned the conversation on Emma, taking her hand back away from her arm...she probably didn’t need Trini touching her while talking about bats. _Bats_ . God. Zack and Kimberly could _never_ know.

“I take a photography class at Angel Grove Community College” Emma used her good hand to lift the camera around her neck, “I wanted a change of pace in my life so I came here to take summer classes” She smiled fondly at the girl from her, “This town is beautiful, the mountains the forest...the water, it’s so inspiring that I’ve wanted to check out everything” A girl who came to Angel Grove just to take summer classes, so, she must not have known many locals to be going to a cave with little to no battery all by herself.

“You’re only here for the summer?” Trini asked curiously, people didn’t stick around Angel Grove for very long, what with the constant threat of random aliens coming to run amuck and giant robots...it didn’t make for the most _ideal_ living situation, but real estate was extremely affordable in this kind of dangerous market.

“I don’t know” Emma offered a kind smile a bit lost in her own thoughts, “All of my friends, my life is back in Harwood County...I just needed a break” Trini could understand that well enough, she wished she could take a break from being Trini all the time. Emma had the right idea by coming to a new town entirely to start a journey on her own...away from all the other factors in her life. “I really like it here, I guess we’ll see if I find a reason to stay” She started to try wiping the dust off of her denim jacket, she didn’t mean to get so deep to such a simple question. “What about you?”

“Oh, right, uh” Trini shrugged, “I graduated High School ‘bout a year ago and work as a waitress down by the docks” Wow when she said it out loud it sounded more depressing, “Which makes me _super_ cool”

Emma frowned, stopping herself from getting too busy with trying to clean herself up. She tilted her head, her brows furrowing in concern at Trini’s self deprecating humor, “You’re still young, you have your entire life ahead of you, it’s not like going to take classes at a _community_ college looks great on a resume….” She paused rethinking her words, “Life is what _you_ make of it, not what other people think it should be, if you’re happy with where your life is then...that’s what matters” That was the thing, Trini _wasn’t_ happy with her life, not outside of being a power ranger...her job was okay, but did she have much of a future? Were Power Rangers even _allowed_ to have a future? What was her happiness compared to the fate of the world? “And excuse you, you’re in _roller derby_ that _is_ super cool” Emma’s smile was contagious, Trini was all too happy that it was a bit dark so the other girl couldn’t tell that she was blushing. “So what’s your derby name?” Trini had to look away, ahh she was such a lying shit.

“Uhhhh” Quick think of something, think of fucking _anything_ to sound badass and impressive, “Lil’ Diablo” _Little Devil_ that….actually wasn’t too bad off of the cuff. Zack would be proud.

The sound of Emma’s sweet laugh filled the cavern, if she was still in pain she could hide it well, “That’s adorable” Trini pouted which only made her laugh harder, hey she was a mother fuckin’ power ranger….not that Emma _knew_ that but she certainly could look intimidating if she wanted to. “I’d love to see you play” _Fuck._

“Ah well we’re unfortunately in off season” Trini felt guilty for lying, she actually _enjoyed_ being in Emma’s company, this was the first time she wanted to engage in a conversation with a stranger. It was hard for Trini to meet new people, scratch that, new people that were _her age_ , didn’t reek of fish or were straight dudes. Outside of the ranger gang, the only person she looked forward to having banter with was her manager Mike Fernandez or his wife Emily. How pathetic, she needed to get out more. “So, why photography?” She would rather listen about Emma’s life than to have to make up lies about her own.

“Oh” She still favored her good arm as she took the camera in her hand, she wore it around her neck like a safety blanket. “At first I got into taking pictures of my friends, making memories. There’s so much that can be said by looking at a photo...people don’t realize that right here, these moments, they’ll be the one’s we’ll look back on in twenty...thirty years. People change, people grow apart, people _forget_ , but that one moment in time is captured forever” Emma tilted her head, “Have you ever gone through an old album of photos? It’s seeing an old image that can trigger so many stories, that’s how you can spend hours going through old things”

No wonder Kimberly took as many photos with her phone as possible. Hearing Emma talk about her passion made Trini smile, that was one thing she noticed being around this new girl...smiling was easy around her. Being around her was easy, and this was a girl she had never seen before in her life. The fact that Emma was cute was just an added bonus. “I must sound so weird to you”

“No, no...not at all” Trini didn’t understand how people could be so sentimental about things, but that was before she met the other rangers. They were the ones that changed the game on her, made her feel like she was apart of something bigger...a family. “Do your parents like that you’re…”

“Going into an art like this?” Emma shook her head, “They do that thing where they pretend to be supportive but constantly worry that I’ll wind up homeless and hungry. I was here trying to bulk up my portfolio, that’s how I got stuck in this cave….I’d love to travel the world and see _everything_ I can...not just the landmarks and natural wonders but the _people_ , there’s so much life out there and I want to capture it” God, she was kind of the most amazing person Trini had ever met.

“I hope you get to see it” Trini was earnest in that sentiment, she hardly even knew this girl and already she literally wanted the world for her.

“That is if we ever get out of this cave” Emma sighed, hanging her head, “No one knows we’re even out here”  

Trini knew that was a lie, Alpha 5 would be able to track her location via the power coins energy signal with no problem. “The Power Rangers will find us” She reassured her by resting a hand on the other girl’s knee. After popping her shoulder back into place and saving her from falling rocks she felt comfortable touching her. “They’ll save us”

“You really think so?” To average people Power Rangers were like Gods, celebrities. People would always freak out and grab their cameras to take pictures, kids wanted to _be_ the power rangers and of course somehow toys were made of them. Not that Trini had many action figures of herself, that would just be vain. “God I look like such a mess”

“I don’t think the Power Rangers care” She paused, “You look fine” Emma sent her a look, oh Trini wasn’t fooling anyone...the photographer knew she was covered in dirt and still unaware of the giant smudge on her face. “You look _fine_ ” Trini tilted her head, “You’re cute”

“Oh _stop_ !” Emma laughed, waving her good hand, oh not fair. So Emma could call Trini’s fake roller derby nickname adorable but she couldn’t call her cute? What kind of logic was that? “I bet the Power Rangers are gorgeous” Trini’s eyes widened comically at that, “Under the helmets, obviously, I’m sure you’ve thought about it before...they can be literally _anyone_ ” Yeah, they could literally be sitting right in front of you.

“Ahhhhh no I haven’t really thought about it” Now they were talking about the one thing Trini _liked_ about her life, but she couldn’t _actually_ talk about it. “They’re probably just average” Biggest lie yet.

“Can I tell you something?...It’s ah….it’s kind of embarrassing” Emma bit her lip, it wasn’t like anyone here in Angel Grove _knew_ who she was to tell anyone else about it.  

“Your secret’s safe with me” Trini rose three fingers as a mocking scouts honor, Emma didn’t need to know that she was never apart of that organization.

“I kind of have a crush on the pink ranger” _What?_ Trini couldn’t stop blinking which made Emma a bit uneasy about making that sort of confession, “I know-I know it’s stupid. I don’t know what she actually looks like but...maybe that’s part of the excitement? She must be beautiful” Well, Kimberly _was_ that wasn’t the point.

“Ha yeah...but….” Trini scratched her head, forgetting that she was wearing her trusty beanie, “The yellow ranger amirite?” She grinned cheekily, oh if only this poor girl knew, “Eyy?”

“I dunno she seems kinda intimidating” Trini had to bite her entire bottom lip into her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud. Oh Trini wasn’t intimidating at all, adorable even, but the yellow ranger was the one that seemed badass? ...The armor certainly helps. “I’ve seen clips of her fighting on youtube, she’s really scrappy...I would be kind of afraid to talk to her” Trini’s heart melted at Emma’s insecurity, _oh_ this was unfair. “Oh, but that makes sense if that’s your like _type_.”

Oh no. Emma thought Trini had the _hots_ for the yellow ranger. Trini’s mouth suddenly went dry at the realization….Emma’s first preference of attractive people was the pink ranger. Minor detail on Kim being the “hot one” but...it meant that Emma liked _girls_ and was pretty open about that. Trini had an actual shot with this girl. “Ha, sure, I guess”

“That kinda makes me feel better” Emma laughed, she was sure other people had crushes on the power rangers as well. It was something Trini didn’t really want to think about or look at too closely...it didn’t matter every other ranger was dating one another. She was the one left in the cold. “I wonder what it’s like to be a Power Ranger, it must be so rewarding to be able to help so many people” She didn’t know the half of it, being a Power Ranger was freaking awesome, “It’s so crazy how we suddenly have to worry about aliens destroying the world…”

“Yeah well, I guess times like this it’s good to know some self defense” Aka, an excuse to see the pretty girl outside of this stupid cave, preferably after a shower to get rid of all this dirt and grime, “I could teach you a couple of things” She nodded her head, “From ah, derby”

“Oh” Emma chuckled, “I’m not much of a fighter” She couldn’t hurt a fly, Emma seemed like the type of girl who wouldn’t even kill a spider, but put it in a glass and take it outside. Emma didn’t have a violent bone in her body, “Outside of the property damage from giant robot fights, the crime rate here in Angel Grove is abysmal...I feel safe knowing the Power Rangers are here”

“Someone call for a Power Ranger?” A male voice rang through the cave, oh thank god it wasn’t fucking Kim. Trini did not want to have to deal with the thought of Emma being saved by the oh so wonderful pink ranger. Zack jumped down through the Trini sized hole and landed without a hitch, his arms spread wide as if preparing for a big hug from the pretty ladies. “You girls are safe now, the monster has been destroyed”

Emma’s eyes widened, she had spent her entire morning inside this cave, “ _Monster_?” Yeah self defense classes didn’t sound so bad now.

“She’s hurt” Trini got to her feet first, going over to her friend, trying to do her best _not_ to show any sort of inclination that she knew the guy. “She needs to go to the hospital and get looked at” Trini turned her head to Emma’s direction she was still stunned that a Power Ranger was here before her in the flesh. Oh maybe Trini should have been acting more hero worshippy….but this was _Zack_ there was only so much lying and pretending she could do in one day.  “Be careful with her shoulder, get her out first”

“Okay right” The Black Power Ranger approached Emma, gingerly picking her up into his arms and being as careful as humanly possible. “You’re going to be just fine, just hold on tight”

“Thank you so much” She wrapped her good arm tightly around Zack’s neck to show her appreciation. It wasn’t uncommon for civilians to be overly affectionate when their lives were being saved.

“I’m coming up Red!” Zack called frown down below, Emma looked at Trini and mouthed an ‘oh my god’ the Red Ranger fearless leader of the Power Rangers was _also_ here. As Zack used his strength to jump through the hole in the caves ceiling, Trini just crossed her fingers and prayed that Kimberly and Billy were still in San Diego. She _loved_ Kimberly but she did _not_ need the Pink Ranger to twat swat her...this was her chance to ask a girl out for the first time since... _wow_ fuck, since before becoming a Power Ranger.

When Zack came down his helmet opened to reveal his face, more importantly, his shit eating grin, “She’s hot, you should get on that” Great, a reminder that Zack Taylor had eyes.

“Oh stop!” She pushed his chest, _he_ was the one actually _dating_ the pink ranger. “Pick me up and get me out of here”

Zack made sure that his helmet closed up as he picked his tiny friend up into his arms, they needed to pull the hero civilian act. It was only a matter of seconds and she could breathe fresh air and see daylight once more. _Seconds_ that was all it freaking took, she could have done this herself if she had the opportunity to morph. As Trini watched Emma fawn over Jason she sighed, if she _did_ morph she wouldn’t have gotten a chance to meet someone that was so pure of heart, that could make her genuinely smile for longer than two seconds.

This was going to have to be their goodbye, the Red Ranger would take Emma to the hospital so her shoulder could get properly looked at. “Trini, wait!” Emma looked over to the superhero beside her, “Can I please have two minutes? Please, I promise I won’t waste any of your time”

Jason nodded his head, “Take all the time you need” He folded his arms, with the danger contained, they didn’t have anywhere they needed to _be_ at the moment.

Emma carefully took the cinch bag off of her back, rooting around in it until she came up with a pen. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you today and um” She took Trini’s hand, extending her arm so she could write her phone number down on it, “If you wanted to get some coffee sometime, I kind of owe you for that” Trini stared blankly at Emma, and when she nodded the girl in the pink shorts wrapped her good arm around her for a friendly hug. “Thank you so much” When she deemed the hug long enough, Emma stepped back with a smile on her face...she was always so happy despite how crazy of a freaking day it was, “Consider it a date”  
  
With Emma’s back turned and Jason escorting her away, Zack sent Trini the double thumbs up. Trini couldn’t believe it... _she_ was the one who was asked out on the date, she didn’t even _try_ , Emma saw what she wanted and made the move. Oh, fuck. Trini needed to get a replacement phone _immediately._


	2. Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dating was hard enough as it is, but dating while living a double life as a Power Ranger was tough for Trini.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank everyone who gave this fic a chance to start, I know crossover ships aren't everyone's cup of tea especially it being a show/movie ship focus. but I really appreciate all of your kudos/comments so thank you all so much!

The first thing Trini did when she got her new cellphone was to add Emma as a contact, knowing her luck the number would have washed off her arm and she did  _ not _ want the cute girl from the caves to slip through her fingers over something stupid. The photographer had a gift, even in text messages Emma could constantly make Trini smile. Talking to someone new, someone  _ interested _ in her was electrifying, addictive, she could easily text Emma all day about stupid little things like helping her choose what to eat for lunch or going back and forth with stories from high school. The yellow ranger found herself always near her phone waiting for new notifications, even during movie night with the other rangers. 

Billy and Kimberly had come to visit from San Diego, it was summer break for them so as long as their rent was paid they didn’t need to physically be at their apartment. These next few months were their opportunities to take advantage to be around their boyfriends….and Trini too of course. Billy was the one to pick the movie, to no one’s objection, and he sat on the middle cushion of the couch; Jason’s arm draped over his shoulders. Zack had Kimberly sitting in his lap with a blanket over them occupied the recliner. It left Trini, as usual, to sit in between these two couples on the couch cushion. A great reminder that she was still...hopefully not for long, single. 

The movie choice of the night was Transformers, something they had all seen multiple times, Billy loved watching the giant robots fight as it reminded him so much of the Megazord. Trini felt no qualms about texting Emma throughout the whole thing, she was nice enough to keep her screen brightness down but that didn’t stop Billy from noticing. It irked him when people spent more time on their phones….or in Zack and Kim’s case not so quietly flirting instead of watching the movie. It didn’t make sense to the blue ranger, everyone that Trini could possibly  _ enjoy _ texting was in this room. Outside of the rangers the only person that would message her was her manager at the restaurant, it couldn’t  have been him. “Who’re you texting?” He asked, the question bringing attention to Trini’s phone, instinctively she held the phone close to her chest as if protecting her private conversation. 

“It’s not a big deal” She tried to play it down, she wanted to have something that was just  _ hers _ for a little longer.

“Is it the cute girl from the cave?” Zack tilted his head a grin plastered on his face, oh he knew exactly who Trini was talking to. 

Now  _ that _ got Kimberly’s attention, she and Billy were in another city for so long that she was a bit out of the loop. “What girl?” Trini was her best friend, if she could talk to anyone about a new potential love interest she would hope that she would be able to come to her. Kimberly had waited for this kind of moment for  _ awhile _ now, for Trini to finally find a girl to talk to, “You’re seeing someone?”

“Butt out of it Zack” This was exactly what Trini wanted to avoid, “We’re just talking, that’s all”

“Did you not go out on your coffee date yet?” Jason asked with a concerned frown, the incident with the caves happened a couple of days ago...he really wanted what was best for Trini and already she was in a better mood. She smiled around the house more, or at least in the bubble she put up around her phone. 

“It’s tomorrow” She mumbled, wanting to deal with this on her own, she was nervous enough as it was to go on an actual date. As much as she  _ loved _ her ranger family, the last thing she wanted was for them to get overly involved...or in the boys case to constantly tease her about it. Trini felt a pang of guilt when she was met with Kimberly’s sad expression, maybe she should have told her… “It’s just coffee” She didn’t want to get her hopes up too high, that Emma would  _ actually _ want to be around her again for a real date. 

“It’s never “just coffee”, I saw the way she looked at you, she wanted some Trini action” Like an older brother Zack was so not above teasing, “If you ever need a wingman” He offered his hand out, “Here lemme text her for you, get some magic going”

When Trini shifted uncomfortably, Kimberly was the one to take his arm and return it to the recliner, “Will you stop being an ass?” Zack laughed, oh he thought he was so funny. Jason could only shake his head and sigh, why was his family like this?

Billy offered Trini a kind smile, he knew what it was liked to be teased and he never liked it, “What’s her name?” If there was someone important in his friend’s life he wanted to know all about her. 

Trini rested her head back on the couch, putting her phone in her pocket so Zack couldn’t make another pass at it. “Emma...I don’t know her last name” That didn’t exactly come up naturally in a conversation, “She’s taking classes at the community college” Trini was too busy focusing her attention on Billy that she didn’t notice Kimberly on her phone behind her. “She’s not from around here”

“Where’s she from?” Kimberly asked curiously, glancing up from her screen, she definitely had an ulterior motive. 

“Harwood County”

“Emma’s a pretty name” Billy nodded enthusiastically, “It means universal, Latin origin and right now the number one baby girl name in the United States” When Trini frowned in confusion, Billy lit up with excitement to explain, “Jason and I were partners in home ec and we had to watch over a bag of flour like it was our baby” Jason next to him brought up a hand to cover his face, embarrassed at this story, “It was supposed to be a lesson in good parenting. I thought we would do better with a baby girl, so that’s what we named her” Oh that was an interesting week, the rangers could recall Billy cradling the bag of flour at their lunch table. ...They just didn’t realize the bag of flour had a  _ name _ . 

“So what happened to baby flour bag Emma?” Zack asked curiously, pulling his attention away from Kimberly’s phone after touching the screen. 

“Remember Kimberly’s birthday cake?” Jason asked, the entire group came to the quick realization and groaned….they used their fake baby daughter to make a  _ cake _ . “The assignment was over, what were we going to with a bag of flour?” The red ranger made an excellent point.

“Is it this one?” Trini heard Kimberly whisper next to her, followed by an enthusiastic “Yes” from Zack. She did not like the sound of that  _ one _ bit, “Wow” Kim sounded impressed, “Trini she’s really pretty” She said as if Trini didn’t have eyes.

Of  _ course _ they were going to facebook creep on the girl she had been talking to, “Stop!” Emma’s privacy didn’t need to be invaded  _ before _ they even went on a first date, “Just stop, oh my god”

“Guys come on” Trying to neutralize the situation Jason motioned his hand to the television screen, “Why don’t we finish the movie?” Giant robots beating the nuts and bolts off of each other sounded way less interesting than grilling Trini on her love life but she was clearly feeling defensive about the whole thing.

“Wow this girl takes a lot of pictures” As photographers do, Zack continued to scroll on Kimberly’s phone, “Oh beach album”

Now that was the last straw for Trini, she was able to make a quick swipe for Kimberly’s phone to turn off the app. “You know, I expected better from  _ you _ ” She narrowed her eyes at her best friend, the one other girl in the group who could possibly understand. “Have fun with the movie” Trini didn’t humor Kim by giving her the phone back, instead she turned and headed up stairs, she wasn’t up for a family night anymore.

“Trini wait…” Kimberly sighed, yeah she really messed this one up, just as soon as Trini ascended the stairs she left her boyfriends lap to follow her, leaving the three boys to their own devices. 

“You couldn’t just let it go?” The red ranger sighed at his friends antics, “You better apologize”

“What? Oh come on! Is it so wrong to be excited that our Crazy Girl is  _ finally _ going out?”

Billy shook his head, “You were being mean”  

At the top of the stairs, Kimberly knocked on Trini’s door, the yellow ranger having shut it in the pink ranger’s face moments ago “Can we talk? I’m sorry….Please...open up”

It was hard to stay mad at her best friend for very long, Trini mastered giving Kimberly the silent treatment, it was easier in High School….when they had all the time in the world to make up. As time had passed their friendship shifted, Kimberly lived in a different city, she had a boyfriend and Trini had her own life waitressing at the docks. The silver lining of High School was that the ranger gang could see each other every single day…Trini wished she really knew what that meant back then. 

The yellow ranger opened the door, still not pleased with the pink ranger but she was going to at least hear her out. “I’m not giving you your phone back” Trini of course would, but only if Kimberly would  _ stop _ prying into Emma’s life. They hadn’t even gone out for coffee yet. “If that’s all you’re here for”

“Oh stop” Kimberly shook her head, entering Trini’s room, with the door closed behind her the girls could get some privacy away from the boys. “Why didn’t you tell me about her? This is so exciting for you” All she wanted was to be a part of it, like best friends do. 

“Because I don’t want to get my hopes up” Her friends meddling and getting involved was only making her more nervous about this upcoming coffee date. Trini sat down at the foot of the bed, “I’m scared she’s going to realize that I’m not worth it”

“What? That’s….” Kimberly frowned, taking a seat on the bed next to her, “That’s probably the most  _ ridiculous _ thing you’ve ever said. Trini she would be  _ lucky  _ to have you, anyone would be because you’re amazing”

Trini sighed, Kimberly didn’t get it, why would she? “I’m only “amazing” because I’m a power ranger. Something that I will have to  _ constantly  _ lie about” Kim didn’t even know how many lies Trini had already strung and that was just  _ meeting _ this other girl, “You have Zack, you can be 100% yourself  _ all  _ the time. So can Jason and Billy. I don’t get that luxury and it’s not easy meeting girls in Angel Grove as it is” She literally had to be stuck in a cave with one to be asked out on a freaking coffee date. “I don’t know why I’m bothering”

“Because everytime you look at your phone you smile” Kimberly wasn’t going to let Trini be hard on herself, “You deserve to be happy too, and I’m not going to let you sabotage something before it even happens” Kimberly got up and walked over to Trini’s closet, “You  _ like _ this girl so the important question is...what’re you going to wear?”

While the boys spent the rest of the night watching action movies, the girls had an opportunity to catch up with one another. Kimberly helped sift through Trini’s clothes to find an outfit that appropriate enough for coffee….the pink ranger needed to raid and purge her friend’s closet more often. Trini owned far too many t-shirts. Kim promised that she would do Trini’s make up the next morning and of course gave her the advice of the do’s and don’t of a first date. The two spent the rest of the night laying on Trini’s bed and talking about how Kimberly’s relationship with Zack was going, how Trini met Emma, with a side of talking about Jason and Billy. God, did Trini miss having her best friend this past year. 

 

*****  

 

With Kimberly helping her out with a coffee-date look and makeup, and Zack giving her an early morning apology for being a buttmunch the night before; Trini had the confidence she needed to go in on this date. What was there even to be worried about? So Kimberly may have let her borrow her leather jacket, Trini needed the extra swag-jacket-morale boost for this. The yellow ranger had this in the bag, for sure. That was until Emma spotted her from the table she was sitting at and smiled... _ fuck _ after texting back and forth for a couple of days Trini forgot how much that  _ freaking smile _ could melt her into a puddle. “Ha there you are” Trini sat down across from the photographer, having ordered a hot chocolate instead of a coffee. “Shit, have you been waiting long?”

“Just a couple of minutes” The Angel Grove’s Krispy Kreme was the only place to get a good cup of coffee so Emma made sure to grab a table before it got  _ too _ busy. “You clean up nice” She tilted her head, making it  _ fully _ obvious she was checking Trini out, the last time they were physically together they were covered the dust and grime from the wilderness. Amazing what a shower could do to make a person look more human. 

“Well um...so do you” Trini could feel the blush creep up her neck, so much for being a faux badass roller derby chick. “How’s your shoulder?” She asked, relieved that Emma didn’t need to wear a sling, so she must’ve been doing just fine. 

“Good, yeah, actually you did a great job setting it back into place my doctor was impressed, it hurts every now and again if I bump it accidentally but...I should be just fine...so thank you”

“Happy to help, what can I say? I’m good with my hands” Oh, shit, Trini didn’t realize how that freaking came off until a moment later. Emma’s brows raised curiously, her eyes shifted down from Trini’s face to her hands cradling the cup. She did  _ not _ mean for that to be dirty. 

“So you never told me, how was being around the black ranger?” She lowered her voice, the red ranger escorted her to the hospital so she only assumed that the black ranger helped Trini get to where she needed to go. “I’m….still in shock” Emma leaned in closer, “We  _ met _ the power rangers, and even if I told my friends back at home they wouldn’t believe me” She didn’t have picture evidence of it.

“Oh uh” Trini hated that she had to put Zack and the others on this freaking pedestal, but right now she was a normal person, to normal people the Power Rangers were the  _ coolest,  _ “He made a lot of jokes….he thinks he’s really funny” More like he commented on the whole Emma thing as he demorphed and escorted Trini to the freaking phone store. 

“The red ranger was such a gentleman” Jason took his role as the red ranger very seriously, especially when it came to interacting with the general population. He knew how many people, how many  _ kids _ looked up to the Power Rangers and wanted to be a positive role model. “He had a  _ lot _ to say about the yellow ranger, I think they might be dating”  _ That _ made Trini start coughing on her hot beverage. Emma had  _ no  _ idea what she just implied. Oh god just the thought of  _ dating _ Jason in a romantic sense. Not that there was  _ anything _ wrong with Jason but oh gross, he was practically her  _ brother _ and a  _ guy.  _ “Oh my god are you okay?” Emma reached forward to rest a hand on Trini’s forearm, as if the magic of touch would help her not choke on hot chocolate going down the wrong pipe. “Do you want me to get you some water?”

Trini shook her head, using her free hand to cover her mouth while she coughed, drinking more hot chocolate would definitely be a good idea. “I’m sorry, I’m okay” As the couching subsided and she was finally able to naturally breathe again. Trini noticed that Emma still had her hand on her arm, her expression still laced with concern. “What makes you think that?”

“Huh?” Emma forgot what she even said before Trini started choking on her beverage, “Oh he just said a lot of nice things about her” What was Jason trying to accomplish with that? Obviously he was  _ trying _ to be a good wingman or tried to get Emma to keep thinking of the color yellow to associate with Trini, who knows. “Maybe I misjudged her”

It was hard for Trini to be talking about the Power Rangers without giving any inclination that she was  _ one  _ of them, “No no I think you had it right. Intimidating, scrappy, badass, alien beating, cool chick” Was she going to make the yellow ranger sound like the best one? Absolutely.

“And I thought I had the celebrity crush” Emma couldn’t help but laugh, Trini could fight all she wanted but it was hard to resist smiling around her. She waited for the moment to subside before changing the subject, “So, I haven’t been around Angel Grove for very long” Summer classes had only just begun, “I was hoping, since these are your stomping grounds, that you could show me around”

“Oh” Trini glanced down, now she was confused, was this actually a date? Maybe she jumped the gun a bit thinking that Emma  _ liked  _ her liked her. The poor girl was new to town, what she needed was a friend, “C’mon, there’s more to this town then the Krispy Kreme” Trini got up, she could get to know Emma on foot, a change of scenery could do them some good. Why stay sitting at a table when the weather was so nice outside? 

“Okay so I’m sure you’ve noticed that this is mainstreet” Trini started to explain, she really wasn’t the  _ best _ sort of tour guide but she lived and protected this town well enough that she knew it like the back of her hand. Ah behind them, the Zeo Crystal was buried deep under the ground and if destroyed the world would implode. Probably should leave that bit out, even if it made for a fun fact. “It’s mostly family owned businesses, small restaurants and well…” She gestured to one store in particular, “If you are into camping, the wilderness, or have a lust for sailing you’ve come to the right place” 

Emma surprised Trini by reaching down for her hand while they walked down main street. A welcome surprise, there was no doubt in Trini’s mind now if this was a date or not. Emma  _ definitely  _ was interested, and she didn’t care who else noticed. “I’ve never gone camping before” She admitted, laughing a little to herself at the confession, it explained why she wasn’t very prepared in that fluke cave incident, “I’ve always lived in a big city” 

Well that was something that had to change, Trini absolutely loved being out around a fire with her closest friends...they hadn’t had a proper bonfire since high school. Great, she was starting to become one of those people who glorified the past but really, her life after high school wasn’t that great. “I’ve bounced around a lot as a kid” Trini understood what life in the big city was like, how easy it was to feel invisible, small, to get lost in the shuffle… “We eventually settled here” Angel Grove became  _ home _ , “It’s a lot quieter than what I grew up with” ...When the world wasn’t being invaded anyway. 

“Do you like it here?” Emma had only lived here for a couple of weeks and so far experienced a cave in. 

“I do” Her job wasn’t great, but Angel Grove was where she met her friend family, found her  _ destiny _ , she could never hate this little suburban area by the water. “It’s a bit of a slower pace but the people are always nice” Trini led Emma away from the main streets of the small town in favor of the harbor. The view of the water from the pier was photo-worthy and if there’s anything Trini picked up about her newest ‘friend’ was that she loved a great view. “And I work down here at The Hook”

“It’s like a postcard” Emma’s eyes were filled with wonder, her lips broke out into a million dollar smile as she peered out at the serene water, the mountains off in the background. She let go of Trini’s hand in favor of turning on her camera phone. Emma could never miss up an instagram worthy moment, especially with the docked boats to perfectly create the scene. “Everything’s so peaceful out here”

Trini swore this girl could probably find a kicked over anthill beautiful, the thought of that made the yellow ranger smile and shake her head. This moment was  _ ruined _ by Trini’s phone blaring. Trini only kept her sound on for four contacts...in case of an emergency. Fuck. “Hello?” She put a hand on her other ear and took a couple of steps away from Emma for a little extra privacy, “I’m kinda busy here”

“I’m so sorry” It was Kimberly on the other line, fuck,  _ fuck _ , if anyone understood how important this date was to Trini...it was her best friend. “There’s some trouble in Vancouver and we need the team” What the  _ hell _ Canada? “We need you and the Sabertooth Zord as quickly as possible”

“Yeah” Ranger duty had to come first, people’s lives were at stake here. God, what was she going to tell Emma? She closed her eyes and pocketed her phone, anything she said was going to sound so lame, that she wanted to get out of this date...that was the  _ last  _ thing she  _ wanted _ to do. 

“Is everything okay?” Emma turned her attention away from taking pictures when she could  _ feel _ Trini’s energy shift. “Trini?”

Trini swallowed, she needed to come up with something….freaking anything, “My Aunt just got hit by a bus” She brought her hand to her forehead, to an outsider it looked like she was struggling with the sudden news but really she was mentally screaming at herself for not being able to come up with a better lie.  _ Really _ Trini? Of all things to  _ freaking _ say to get out of a date.

“Oh my god!” Emma quickly was at Trini’s side, wrapping her arms around her in a hug, “I am so sorry” Trini’s gut twisted into a knot, it was bad enough that she lied but Emma full on believed her. That made this a hundred times worse. She did  _ not _ deserve to be around someone so kind and thoughtful, “Is she...is she going to be okay?”

….Are people ever okay after getting hit by a bus? Trini shook her head, “I don’t know...I-I have to go” She shifted out of the taller girls arms, she hated to have to lie, she did that enough growing living under her parents roof. “I’m so sorry” She was, if it were up to her she’d be here...walking her down the pier. She didn’t even get a chance to buy her ice-cream, the  _ best  _ in Angel Grove, that would’ve totally impressed her. Damn it Canada.

“Of course...don’t apologize for that, please, go be with your family” Emma offered the tiniest of smiles, there wasn’t anything else she could do to make Trini feel better, “Will you call me?”

“Absolutely” That wasn’t going to be an empty promise. The two girls stood there awkwardly, it wasn’t like Trini could kiss her on the lips and go--that was not how she wanted her first kiss with the cute girl to go. Still, she couldn’t run off like  _ this _ she needed to do something to show that she was still interestested. What to do, what to do? She was running out of time and needed to get to her zord. It was time for the yellow power ranger to be brave, “I’ll see you later” With Emma still standing close to her, Trini leaned up and kissed her cheek.

Emma’s smile only flustered her as Trini had to make a speedy getaway, this wasn’t a complete loss….she could have done without tripping over a fisherman’s bucket and Emma calling after her asking if she was okay. That wasn’t the  _ smoothest _ way to leave a date. Whatever the hell alien monster was running amuck in Vancouver, Trini swore she was going to kick it’s freaking ass back into space  _ so _ hard for interrupting her date and making her look like an idiot.

 

*****

 

Trini  _ needed _ to make this up to Emma, and by doing so she was going to step up her game and attempt to do something fun for a second date...that was if Emma actually  _ wanted _ to talk to her again after bailing so suddenly. Having gone to the store, Trini returned to the Power Ranger house with a bag in her hand, her attention on a current phone call, “She’s going to be just fine, just a... _ lot  _ of broken bones….ha...look” She wanted to distract from her colossal bus-sized lie, “I want to take you out...to make up for having to leave so suddenly”

“You don’t have to apologize for a freak accident” Trini could hear Emma’s smile through the freaking phone, “...You want to take me out? Like on a date?”

“Yeah like on a date” A  _ second  _ date, unless coffee didn’t count and this proposed date would be the  _ first  _ date. Dating was so weird and complicated. “Are you free Thursday night?” Trini set the bag down on the kitchen table, Zack had a bowl of cereal in hand and a stupid grin on his face listening to the conversation. The yellow ranger sent the black ranger a freaking death glare and pointed a finger with a free hand, a warning not to freaking say  _ anything _ until she hung up the phone. She was  _ well _ experienced in the territory of having brothers.

“Mhmm, I have a class but it ends at three so...I’m all yours” 

Trini swallowed at Emma’s words, one word in particular-- _ yours _ . “G-great, I will pick you up at 7” She prayed that Jason would let her cash in on one of the  _ many _ favors he owed her. Now that his truck had been fixed it was perfect for impressing the ladies, “See you then” Trini clicked off the call and took a brand new pair of roller skates out of the bag and rested them on the table. “Can you teach me how to skate?”

Zack leaned back in his chair, his eyebrows going wide, oh he  _ loved _ when Trini needed him for a favor. His grin said it all, of course he knew how to freaking roller skate, “And  _ why _ would Trini Gomez want to learn how to  _ roller skate _ ?” 

Trini hated giving him the satisfaction of  _ anything _ really, “I thought you were  _ supposed _ to be my wingman” She took away the cereal bowl, only to see he had pulled out all of the marshmallows from the Lucky Charms box, so  _ that's _ where they all went. “...Will you just help me or not?” He tilted his head to the side, that answer wasn’t good enough for him. “I may’ve lied about knowing how to skate” And now a head tilt to the other side, like a damn puppy, “I told her I did roller derby”

“Why would you tell her  _ that _ ? Have you ever skated in your  _ life _ ?” Zack asked, laughing as he got up to examine the skates that she bought. They’d do, “You’re taking her to the roller rink on a date to try and impress her, oh ho, okay Crazy Girl” There was a reason she gave herself a couple of days between now and date time, she needed a crash course in not looking like an idiot on wheels. “I’ll help you out”

It was embarrassing enough to ask Zack to teach her how to skate, but if she ever wanted to be able to convincingly look like a roller derby girl she would have to learn the craft. For the other power rangers, they dated each other, they  _ knew _ each other so well that they didn’t have to do this little song and dance. Meeting new people  _ sucked, _ putting herself out there  _ sucked, _ she hated it more than anything. It was easy to to just be that single waitress at the fisherman’s bar, she could go through the motions of the day to day. There was nothing  _ exciting  _ about that. With Emma, the girl who radiated sunshine; Trini’s heart raced, lightning could strike her and she’d be left grinning like an idiot. She had it bad for someone she hardly knew, at the end of the day Trini just didn’t want to feel so damn lonely anymore...so she was going to learn how to skate.  

Teaching Trini how to skate went from Zack teaching her, to a group effort. Despite being a  _ Power Ranger _ , Billy made sure to get Trini a helmet and some pads. Jason took a simple lesson of going around in a circle further by placing a line of cones down their driveway as a drill to give Trini better control. The real MVP was of course princess Kimberly Hart and her background in ice skating as a child. She was the one who taught Trini the most important and impressive skill to anyone who didn’t know what they were doing…..the ability to skate backwards. Watch out world, here comes Lil’Diablo. 

A couple of days later it was Thursday, she was as ready as she was going to be for her date with Emma. If the Rangers could be good enough to beat Rita Repulsa in eleven days, than learning how to skate in two wasn’t a problem at all. Even Alpha 5 got involved in timing her laps inside the base...Zordon however  _ wasn’t  _ thrilled with that. Even after all these years he hasn’t loosened up much around the kids. 

As expected, Emma was impressed with Jason’s truck and that Trini was tall enough to see the road over the dashboard. She definitely had to move her seat up so she could even reach the pedals, but she didn’t want to give Emma that satisfaction. For once Trini could be honest about  _ something  _ and said the truck was her roommates and he let her borrow it. Roller rinks were far and few between so Trini had to leave Angel Grove limits and take her to the neighboring town of Blue Bay Harbor. The other town was famous for its laid back atmosphere, the surf, the skateparks, dirt bike trails, it made a perfect place for the adventurous type. If Power Rangers could ever retire, this would be the ideal place for a couple like Kimberly and Zack.

“Oh gosh, I haven’t been to a roller rink since I was seven” With a name like ‘United Skates of America’ it didn’t take long for Emma to piece together what kind of establishment her date brought her to, “It was for my best friend Gia’s birthday” Emma astutely noticed that Trini, the expert roller derby girl brought her own skates, “So….you take all the girls here to show off?” She asked as they exited the vehicle, since Emma  _ wasn’t _ experienced in the roller skating arena she would have to rent her own from the main counter. 

Ha oh that was too funny, Trini actually having enough smooth bravado to bring multiple girls anywhere. The yellow ranger just laughed and rubbed the back of her neck, she really didn’t have much experience in the flirting category, “Oh uhhhh” Embarrassed she just went with the first thing that came to mind, “Only the ones I get trapped in a cave with”  _ So _ lame, but seeing Emma smile meant she didn’t totally blow that one.

When Emma said she hadn’t skated since she was seven...it showed. One step on the rink and already the girl was all shaky legs. Trini could understand, just a couple of days ago she felt like she was falling on her ass more than actually skating. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea” She rested a hand on the side of the wall to steady her balance as she tried to go forward. “I can watch you”

“Nah” Trini started to skate backwards, she would have to thank Kimberly a million more times for helping her get that down. She offered her hands out to the girl she was trying to impress, “I won’t let you fall” 

Emma trusted her in the cave to pop her shoulder back into place, here was no different, she took the shorter girl’s hands and allowed her to guide her away from the wall. “When did you learn to skate like that?” Right now Emma wasn’t brave enough to move her feet yet, she was perfectly happy with Trini pulling her along the rink until she felt comfortable to move. “You’re so graceful”

Ha….yesterday, but she couldn’t tell Emma that, instead she shrugged, “I dunno, sometime in High School” 

“Is that when you got into derby?” She tilted her head to the side, little kids there for Tori’s super sweet tenth birthday party kept passing the couple up on either side of them. 

“...Yes?” Trini didn’t mean for her answer to sound like a question, though she supposed if she replaced every Power Rangers related answer to Roller Derby then she would at least have a consistent timeline….it was bad to lie...but worse to endanger Emma. “I was around sixteen” Trini let go of Emma’s hands to see if the other girl could start skating on her own, the split second Emma looked like she was going to topple over, Trini rested comforting hands on her hips. “Hey it’s okay, I’ve got you”

“This is supposed to be just like riding a bike” Emma rested her hands on Trini’s shoulders, it made the yellow ranger wonder if she was stumbling a little on purpose just so Trini would hold her. No, Emma was far too genuine for that, “I feel ridiculous”

“You’re fine” Trini reassured her, focusing on trying to keep Emma safe helped her not overthink what she was going to say. The yellow ranger was actually pretty suave when she wasn’t the one holding herself back. “Just ignore all the kids lapping us”

The taller girl laughed as she noticed most of the girls from the birthday party passed them again. “Oh now I feel old, ugh, no this is not okay” She didn’t want to let go of Trini but she also didn’t want to come off as completely helpless. Deciding to skate  _ next  _ to Trini while holding her hand would have to suffice, “Woo, I think it’s starting to come back to me”

Weebles wobble but never fall down, for the rest of the night Emma was shaky at bits and couldn’t stop herself without having to grip onto one of the side walls or guardrails. She fared better as time went on but insisted on staying close to Trini, holding her hand when she could. During couple skate, Trini mustered up the courage to wrap an arm around Emma’s waist.  Emma wasn’t the type to shy away from the physical contact, even off the rink she never stopped holding Trini’s hand...that was until the couple found a couple of older arcade machines in the back corner. Trini may’ve made for an impressive skater in the three couple of days of constant practice but she had  _ nothing  _ on Emma’s finesse for Pac-Man. Hot damn did this girl know her way around a joystick so much that she  _ almost  _ beat the high score. Trini recognized the highest scorer’s initials as none other than Billy Cranston...there was no beating that kid at anything. 

Trini felt like such a high roller treating Emma for her victory by paying for her three dollar pizza and blue raspberry slushie. So maybe the roller rink  _ wasn’t  _ the most romantic place for a date but even when she almost slipped and fell the other girl constantly smiled and laughed. Their dinner was a chance to get to know one another a little better...more so it was a chance to get to know the aspiring photographer more. 

“So….” Really the big question that was on Trini’s mind, “What were things like before coming to Angel Grove?”

“Oh” Emma took a long sip of her slushie, if she wasn’t careful her entire mouth would turn blue. “Great actually” If things were so great, why bother moving? “I have a group of friends I went to High School with...they’re the  _ best _ , but you know how life goes. After graduation we all went separate ways...we all text and keep in contact with one another, but it’s not the same. It’s never the same” Trini understood that feeling all too well, “I never left my hometown, outside of like vacations obviously. Harwood Academy of the Arts  _ is _ such a good school with a great program for photography. That’s the thing though. I  _ never _ left my hometown” She repeated with a sigh, “I turned twenty one not too long ago” It suddenly dawned on Trini that Emma had two years on her, that and she could legally score her booze... _ that _ wasn’t the important thing to focus on. Oh  _ God _ she must’ve come off as  _ so  _ lame taking a twenty one year old to a freaking roller rink.

“And that’s when I knew I wanted to make a change in my life. Something just feels... _ missing _ you know? How can I really experience life if I never leave my comfort zone?” Starting over in a new place not knowing anyone was scary, getting stuck in a cave in right away was terrifying but the Earthquake had become a blessing in disguise in the photographer's eyes. Emma had met a new friend, and judging by how this date was going Trini was quickly becoming more than  _ just  _ a friend. The choice to leave Harwood County for an adventure of her own proved to be the best decision she made for herself. All it takes is a leap of faith.

“...I know what you mean” Trini took a bite of the pizza, trying not to make a face...ugh this pizza  _ sucked _ , she shouldn’t have even been surprised. This was a roller rink, not Italy. “All my friends seem to be moving on with their lives and I’m just...stuck” She did not expect to get so deep in a place so brightly lit, “I dunno”

“Have you ever thought about taking classes at the community college?” Emma asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. There was something calming about Emma’s presence, Trini hardly even  _ knew _ her and she felt comfortable...she felt safe spilling her guts to her. 

“That takes money I don’t have...if I do...it should mean something” Trini sighed, “It’s pointless to take classes if you have no idea what you want to do with your life” She was barely out of high school, even if she  _ wasn’t _ a power ranger with an obligation to protect the world from intergalactic threats...she wouldn’t know what to do with her life...hell, she had no idea what she was even  _ good _ at. 

“O-kay wow let’s wind ourselves back a little here” Emma reached across the table to hold Trini’s hand, yeah she was  _ definitely _ avoiding taking another bite of that awful pizza, “You’re allowed to  _ experiment  _ a little, try new things, not everything is set in stone...that’s life. Maybe try a new hobby...how do you feel about painting?” Trini rose a brow, “Okay so art isn’t for everyone…” All Emma knew about Trini was that she played roller derby and that she had in interest in wildlife, “Have you ever considered becoming a park ranger?”

“You’re  _ joking _ right?” Trini deadpanned. Hell. Fucking. No. She was not going to be wearing that stupid khaki outfit with that ridiculous hat. Power ranger yes. Park ranger no. Not for her. 

“What? Why not? Angel Grove is  _ beautiful. _ The park system is one of the best in California...the mountains, the forest, that  _ lake _ someone needs to protect that” Emma leaned forward, lowering her voice, there was a children’s birthday party nearby afterall. “I always like a woman in uniform” Cop, hot, military, hot...park ranger? Trini wasn’t too sure personally but her heart was beating too loudly in her chest to really process anything. Smokey the bear could move the fuck over. “Just food for thought” She smiled sweetly, as if she  _ didn’t _ just kick Trini’s senses into overdrive; leaning back she chanced taking another bite of pizza only to make a face and washing it down with the slushie. Emma had the ability to flip from sexy to adorable in the span of thirty seconds.

Trini couldn’t take this awful pizza anymore, she instead got to her feet and offered a hand to help Emma up...wearing skates while standing up and sitting down could suck. “I saw a galaga machine, did you wanna see if you can beat that score?” Though if Billy reigned supreme on Pac-Man there wasn’t much doubt that he had the other machines covered. Still, Trini had fun watching Emma play...she did this cute little thing with her tongue when she concentrated hard on something.

Emma, of course, didn’t let go of Trini’s hand as they headed to a different corner of the roller rink. Not only did galaga reside in this corner but there was a claw machine with plush versions of the Power Rangers as prizes. It  _ still _ weirdered Trini out that the power rangers were practically everywhere...kids could  _ win _ a Kimberly or a Zack or a Jason. A blonde girl had been trying to play the game, getting a little frustrated when she couldn’t grasp a yellow ranger for longer than two seconds. Oh no….Trini had to do something about this. “Em...how good are you at claw machines?”

“Pretty good” Emma followed Trini’s gaze to the little kid, she wasn’t sure what her date was getting at, “One time I won a tie dye weiner dog at the mall. My friends Gia and Troy were super helpful at watching the sides for me...why?"

“Hey kid...you need a hand with that?” Trini asked, keeping a safe distance from the girl until it was okay, this would have to be her good deed of the day-  _ besides _ being good with kids made for a great impression on the ladies. “My girl here’s an expert with these things”

The little blonde girl turned from her spot at the claw machine, her eyes darting to Trini and down at their joined hands. “I saw you out on a couples skate” She observed, not making a comment either way about it...Trini had to hold her breath-please don’t be a shitty child. She took a moment to contemplate letting two strangers help her, big kids  _ were  _ better at this game. When she nodded and stepped aside she let Emma take the controls, “So there’s this girl I like” Younger kids were  _ not _ shy about letting people know about their lives, “The yellow ranger’s her favorite but she really likes the pink rangers dino-plane” The pterodactyl zord, “I wanna win this for her”

Emma’s heart melted at the little girl’s words, oh now they  _ had  _ to win the little toy. With Emma at the controls Trini and the blonde took the sides of the claw machine. “So what’s her name?” Trini asked, Emma was more than okay putting her own money in for this kind of cause. 

“Kira” 

“Aw, that’s pretty” Emma commented, starting the game, Trini was a bit better at trying to guide her through the side of the glass. 

“Ha...yeah...she’s really great...” The girl in blue was so smitten over her tiny friend. It was adorable.

“Okay...nope….nope that’s the blue one! Em!” This was about winning a  _ Trini _ not a Billy. “You need to move it back”

“I know what I’m doing” Emma moved the claw back and a little to the left, she had to let out a deep sigh before making the decision to press the button and release the claw into the pile of ranger toys. When the metal gripped onto the plush yellow rangers head, the three girls by the machine holding their breath until the toy dropped into the winners slot. Victory. Trini offered Emma a sweet hi-five for her efforts. 

“Thank you  _ so  _ so much” The little girl smiled wide, taking the little yellow ranger from the bottom of the machine. “Kira’s going to  _ love _ this! Thank you thank you thank you” In a flash of blue the girl was already skating off to find her yellow ranger fan of a friend. 

Emma and Trini watched the little blonde hand off the toy and whisper something in the other girl’s ear. “Aw we did a good thing” Emma smiled to Trini, “I think we helped make a little love connection” The photographer turned to back to the machine and put another dollar in. 

“Wait….what are you doing?” Trini asked, turning her head at the sound of the crane starting up again. 

“Let’s just say I was inspired” Emma was in full concentration mode now, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth, “I’m gonna win you a power ranger”

Emma won Trini a power ranger alright. A goddamn pink ranger. She won her a  _ Kimberly _ .

 

*****

 

That night Trini drove Emma back to her apartment complex. The stars were aligned that she could be a normal freaking person without any sort of intergalactic conflict for an entire night. Trini wasn’t the most religious of people but boy did she thank God for keeping the aliens at bay for just a little while. 

“This was really fun” Emma didn’t want to get out of Jason’s truck just yet. Trini stifled a laugh when she noticed that Emma’s teeth, lips and tongue were still bright blue from the slushie she had for dinner. “I had a nice time”

Success. Since the truck was in park, Trini could reach over and hold Emma’s hand, stroking it with her thumb. “So if I ask you out again for Saturday you’d say yes?” Her nerves were on a total high right now, but she was a damn power ranger, she could find the inner strength to talk confidently to a girl without a helmet to hide her face. 

Emma answered that question by leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to Trini’s lips. She tasted like blue raspberry, of course that was more of the slushies doing. It was the first time since becoming a power ranger that Trini had been kissed by another girl...she hated that Emma had to leave, their date was ending. “I would definitely say yes” Emma brought her hand up to caress Trini’s cheek, breaking the moment by asking, “Are we actually making plans or is this hypothetical?” 

Trini was going to risk getting blue lips herself by kissing Emma again, “I’ll pick you up at nine” Trini was feeling the confidence rush through her veins as Emma still hadn’t made a move to leave the truck. As far as first, second, and now with Emma’s lips on hers again, a third kiss goes Trini could mark this date down as successful. 

Emma could have literally set Trini on fire when her tongue broke past Trini’s lips and slowly brushed the roof of her mouth. The yellow ranger was  _ so  _ mad at the gear shift and stupid cup holders separating them. Oh Emma knew  _ exactly  _ what she was doing, hook, line and sinker. The taller girl pulled away, a sweet smile plastered on her face, “Goodnight Trini” Her ever so sweet voice sounded like sweet molasses. Ah jeez, Trini really had sugar on the brain. 

It sucked watching Emma leave to enter her apartment building but hot damn one thing was for sure...she  _ wanted  _ Trini just as badly as Trini wanted her. When the yellow ranger checked her reflection in the mirror she noticed a hint of blue on her lips...shit. She would  _ never  _ live that down if her other ranger buddies saw.

 

*****

 

The best part about Kimberly and Billy being around more for the summer was that Trini could  _ finally _ have another girl in the house. It wasn’t that she didn’t love being around Jason and Zack every day...she loved them as if they were her brothers but….there was only so much dude she could be around. To Zack’s credit he was pretty good about cleaning up after himself, and Jason was great at remembering to take out their trash or do dishes but the bathroom...somehow Trini got stuck cleaning the bathrooms, febreezing Jason’s room so it didn’t smell like dude all the time, and the majority of the cooking. More importantly she could talk to Kimberly about things she was too embarrassed to bring up around the red and black ranger.

“Hey ah Kim” It was early morning so she was able to catch Kimberly alone at the kitchen table, she was always one to get up and go out for a jog around the mountain. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“You know the answer to that is always” She frowned, concerned, it normally was like pulling teeth to get Trini to open up, “What’s wrong? Sit down”

“Well things are getting a more serious with Emma….” Trini sat down as she was asked, god she couldn’t even  _ look _ at Kimberly, her hands made a nice substitute. “And uh I don’t want to assume anything I’m  _ not _ but…”

“Third date?” Kimberly asked, cradling her coffee in her hands, her brow arched high as her lips turned up into a smirk. “Yeah, usually that's the date to put out….so things are getting  _ serious _ , huh?”

“No….I know that’s not an _ actual _ thing but…….I dunno if…. _ when _ something  _ does  _ get a bit heated and-”

“And you want to know how to have sex with a girl” Kimberly finished her sentence, as if she knew  _ exactly  _ what Trini was talking about. Oh.  _ Oh _ . “Trini are you a virgin?”

“Fuck” Trini held the bridge of her nose, this conversation was embarrassing enough, thank  _ god _ Zack was such a heavy sleeper. “I’m  _ not _ a virgin, I know  _ what to do _ ” That... _ that _ wasn’t the problem Trini was having, “....I haven’t had sex since…y’know...becoming a Power Ranger”

“I’m not following” Kimberly frowned, now she was just confused, did Trini want sex advice or secret identity advice?

Trini needed to make this clear the  _ only _ way she knew how, “Remember in High School after you dated Jason? You were with that Tommy Oliver kid for like oh-ten seconds before you broke his dick with your crazy super strength?” 

Kimberly’s eyes went wide at the not-so fond memory. “It….” She set down the coffee mug on the kitchen table so she could raise a finger, a silent warning for Trini to  _ never  _ speak of  _ that  _ again, “It was fine...he’s okay...it…” She cringed at the memory, “It still works” Kimberly mumbled, “It’s fine” again, but something in her eyes said otherwise.

“Now do you see what I’m worried about?” Trini bit her bottom lip, “I don’t want to hurt her…” It wasn’t like Zack and Kimberly or Billy and Jason  _ had _ this problem...as  _ being  _ with other power rangers their bodies could handle however extreme they decided to get. Ugh. Gross. Trini didn’t want to think too far into her friends sex lives. 

“She doesn’t exactly have that appendage to...sprain…” Kimberly cleared her throat and another long sip of coffee, this was not the morning she was expecting. “What if you just let her top?”

“Forever?” Trini tilted her head to the side, emphasizing how  _ ridiculous  _ that suggestion sounded. Even if things didn’t work out with Emma, there would be other girls...human girls. This wasn’t a problem that would just go away. Being celibate for so long  _ sucked  _ as it was, she couldn’t do that  _ forever _ either.

“Just don’t…” With two fingers, Kimberly made a gesture, “Thrust too hard, be as gentle as possible” Trini’s face felt like it was on freaking  _ fire _ . She knew this was going to be rough to talk about but  _ goddammit.  _ “We’re not the same Rangers from High School” Yeah, Jason was the one who took out his bathroom sink with  _ ease,  _ they’ve all come a long way since then, “You can control your strength better than anyone, just...keep that thought in the back of your mind, that you don’t want to hurt her...I’m sure you’ll be fine” Like Tommy Oliver fine? There was a long,  _ long _ pause, dead air filled the uncomfortable kitchen, “So what’s your plan for the third date?”

“Stargazing” Emma hadn’t experienced much outside of her city and with the natural parks being so beautiful it seemed like a good fit….that and it was cheap. Trini didn’t exactly have the money to continuously take Emma out on dates. Trini ran her fingers through her hair, “...If it even  _ is _ the night... _ our _ night….I want to make sure she gets her security deposit back” Emma wasn’t the  _ only _ thing she was worried about damaging in the act. She would be absolutely  _ mortified  _ if any of Emma’s furniture, specifically her bed.

Jason came in from the back door, meaning Trini and Kimberly’s conversation was officially over. He had the pink power ranger plush in his hand with a confused look on his face, “Uh, this was in my truck” 

“Oh that’s...that’s mine” Trini extended her arm so the red ranger could hand the stuffed toy over. As if her morning wasn’t humiliating enough. Since Kim, the freaking pink ranger, was in the room she was  _ all  _ too curious about Trini’s new friend. “...Emma won it for me...”

Kimberly let out the heartiest laugh, “Why did she win you the  _ pink _ one?” Oh laugh it up chuckles.

 

*****

 

Trini really owed Jason for letting her borrow his truck again, she was able to take it through the park. Nature was how she met Emma in the first place so she felt that this was suiting. All they needed to enjoy this night view was a picnic blanket, it made for a quiet evening... _ alone _ . Coffee, and roller rinks were fine and all but being out in public could be so damn exhausting. Taking Emma’s hand, Trini led her through one of her favorite trails in the forest until they reached a small grassy area giving them a perfect view of the stars above. 

“....Oh wow….” Emma’s eyes lit up with wonder, she was too busy walking forward to notice that Trini was laying down the blanket to give them a clean place to sit. “I’ve never seen the stars like this before” They were only out for a couple of minutes and she was completely in awe of the rich night sky and how brightly the stars shone, “In the city all of the lights kind of ruin it but  _ this _ it’s...beautiful” 

“Not as beautiful as the view I’ve got” Trini had already sat herself down on the blanket and rested back on her forearms. When Emma turned her head she realized that Trini wasn’t looking up at the sky like she was...she had been looking directly at her.  _ Wow,  _ for Trini that was actually pretty smooth. 

The night sky hid Emma’s blush well enough as she came over to join Trini on the blanket, leaning over to kiss her cheek for the comment. She laid down on her back and pointed up to a cluster of stars, “Up there’s the Big Dipper” 

Having a little experience with actually fighting  _ in  _ space, Trini knew the stars pretty well. She relaxed, fully laying down next to her date for the night, and took Emma’s forearm gently in her hand. “And here’s Orion’s Belt” She moved Emma’s arm to point out which stars were which constellations, “Canis Major and Minor” Trini continued to move the other girl’s arm, “Those’re Orion’s dogs”

“How do you know so much?” Emma asked curiously, tilting her head to relax into Trini’s shoulder. 

“I used to spend a lotta time out here” With the Ranger base not being that far away, it wasn’t uncommon for Trini and the rest of the gang to have camp outs and bonfires after a long training session or a particularly tough fight. “Being out here with my friends was easier than being home” Emma turned her head at that, shit, this was  _ supposed _ to be a romantic night. “My family’s gotten better with the whole  _ gay _ thing” Trini sighed, this was not when she wanted this to come up. “I know they don’t  _ like  _ it, but they want me to be happy so they’re  _ trying _ ...my friends are more like family than my actual family is” Emma lowered her arm so she could wrap it around Trini’s waist, cuddling up to her side with relative ease, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to get all deep here” 

“Don’t ever apologize for your feelings” Her voice was soft, compassionate, Emma was nothing but a warm and caring presence. “...I’m sorry for your family...they’re the ones who are missing out” 

Trini turned on her side, now looking into kind brown eyes, she threaded her fingers through Emma’s hair, “What about you? ...Your family?”

“Oh” Trini could feel Emma’s thumb stroking her hip, “High School” For Emma, the ups and downs of her high school years were further behind her, “Coming out and telling my parents that I’m bi went a  _ lot _ better than I thought it would go” She shrugged, “They’ve been nothing but supportive of me, well, honestly they’re more worried about how I’ll make a living...not who I date”

“Makes sense” Trini could only nod, earning a confused glance from the girl across from her, “You’re the sweetest, kindest person I’ve  _ ever _ met...your parents would have to be literally the cruelest people in the world to turn you away” 

“I’m really not that great” Emma shook her head, for being one to dish out compliments she had a hard time taking them, “You make me sound so amazing, ha, I’m no Power Ranger”

“You’re better” Trini would know that first hand, Emma could’ve made a  _ fantastic  _ power ranger. Before Emma could argue, or even try to rebuff that statement with an explanation to how she could never compare to the Power Rangers; Trini finally closed the distance between them and kissed the girl. After their kiss in the truck, this was all Trini wanted to do, to be close with Emma and to fill the emptiness in her heart with someone warmer than sunshine itself. 

What started out as a tentative kiss, quickly turned into something much more. Trini cradled Emma’s face in her hand; while Emma tugged on Trini’s hips, pressing their bodies together. Before Emma came crashing into her life, Trini had been stuck in her neutral, living the same kind of day over and over. Being the yellow ranger, fighting aliens, piloting the sabertooth tiger zord...that was  _ always _ more important. Here in Emma’s arm, kissing a beautiful girl was a reminder that life as Trini Gomez mattered. Feeling a surge of confidence, Trini pushed forward as  _ gently _ as possible to get Emma on her back. Don’t get too excited, don’t get too rough, so much repeated in Trini’s head as she moved to straddle the older girl’s below her. 

She pulled away from Emma’s hips to start kissing and nipping at her neck...it may’ve been a long time since Trini had  _ been _ with another girl, but she remembered a few things from her ‘girlfriend problem’ days of high school. Emma arched her back up, her hand finding Trini’s to hold onto. A quiet moan escaped Emma’s throat, as Trini found a more sensitive spot on her neck. The photographer’s knee came up between Trini’s thighs to drive the yellow ranger nuts. Don’t break her hand,  _ don’t _ break her hand. How the hell did the other rangers do this? 

“Oh my god Trini” Hearing Emma gasp out her name was music to her ears, an incentive to continue pressing forward. Having one free hand she tried to unsnap the metallic buttons on Emma’s freaking jean jacket...she  _ needed _ to feel more skin and Emma had on far too many layers. “Trini” Trini paused to swallow, she couldn’t use her strength to pop the buttons clear off but boy did that sound like a solid plan. “ _ Trini” _ The third time Emma emphasized Trini’s name, a hand resting on Trini’s shoulder to lightly push her was a sign to  _ stop  _ kissing her neck for three seconds. Were they going to fast? Was something wrong? She didn’t look like she was in pain...no crushed bones definitely was a good sign. “Look up”

Trini frowned in confusion but did as she was told, tilting her gaze up onto the sky above her to see flaming balls of space rock coming down to Earth. Fuck. A meteor shower. To a regular human like Emma, the sight was so beautiful to take in...so much that she would rather stop the make out session to witness it. To a power ranger a meteor shower could be a potential threat. Fuck fuck fuck. Trini quickly got off of Emma to grab her phone, she needed to send out a warning...a very vague warning to the others. “Jason hey, there’s a freaking meteor shower happening right now….yeah I know how much Billy loves space. You should take him to the  _ quarry _ and check it out. Maybe Kim and Zack would like it too? Uh huh. Please…..please keep me posted if you need anything” 

Emma had been too distracted by the meteors coming down to really be bothered by Trini’s sudden jumpy attitude. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah...yeah I didn’t want my friends to miss out on...this” Trini hung up the phone and placed it in her back pocket. She returned to Emma’s side to wrap her arm around her waist, kissing the side of her head...it was hard to focus on the good company when potential space invaders were coming down onto the Earth. Even if Jason assured her that he wouldn’t pull her out unless real danger presented itself it was all Trini could think about. How she wished she could enjoy a beautiful sight with a pretty girl….but she would always be a Power Ranger first.

 

*****

Trini had been fortunate that her date with Emma wasn’t completely ruined by the meteors. By the time the other Rangers reached the landing site….whatever landed had scattered away only to appear days later, larger than life. When would aliens learn that bigger didn’t always mean better? The insectoid alien needed time to cocoon itself and re-emerge stronger. A gigantic praying mantis vs five dinosaur zords, a matchup of the week for the Power Rangers. 

“This thing is absolutely disgusting” Kimberly deftly dodged a swing of a mantis blade by barrel rolling, it was a distraction to pester the pest and give Billy and Zack an opening to shoot their blasters at him. 

“We need to get it on the ropes” Jason’s zord was too busy having a tyrannosaurus tantrum in the nest of the beast, trying to stomp out any sort of eggs before they hatched. 

“Working on it!” Trini and the sabertooth tiger zord pounced on the giant mantis’ back, trying to pin it down, only to be out strengthened and pushed back. “Damn” Inside the cockpit Trini’s phone went off...outside of the other rangers and her boss Mike...there was only one other person that would call her. “Oh damn it. Guys…. _ guys _ try and stay cool” She couldn’t dodge Emma’s call after their last date, no way, things were going far to well for her. “Hey baby, you’re on speaker” She had no other choice, even if that meant the other rangers would hear her conversation. 

“Baby, huh?” Trini wasn’t the type to give pet names, she had no idea where the hell that even came from but Emma didn’t seem too off put by it, “I like that...um where are you?” The mantis made contact with Kimberly’s zord with it’s blade coming down on one of the wings, it made a hideous noise of scraping metal. “I could call back”

“We’re just at the arcade! It’s fine, I just can’t put the phone to my ear because it’s really intense you understand” It was so hard for her  _ not _ to scream at Zack to watch Jason’s back. 

“Guys they’re hatching!” Jason didn’t get to all of the eggs in time, the babies were awake and  _ not _ happy at the metal monsters attacking mommy.

“.......What game are you playing?”

“Uh...oh you know that one game where there’s that blue and red gun and you point it at the screen” 

“Lethal enforcers” Of course freaking  _ Billy _ chimed in with one of the answers, “Oooh or-”

“Sure, that” Trini went with the first thing that Billy said before he could go into a whole laundry list of different arcade games with red and blue freaking guns. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, oh everything’s great, I had such an amazing time with you the other night” Trini closed her eyes, Zack better not the fuck say  _ anything _ right now, “...And wanted to invite you over to dinner, at my place, tonight. If you’re free of course”

Trini glanced over to Jason and even though the red ranger was dealing with some severely pissed off baby praying mantis aliens he was able to send her a thumbs up. Once these nasties were zapped she would be free to go. “Y-yeah of course. Do you need me to bring anything?” Trini wasn’t used to people cooking for her, or inviting them over to their place, or  _ any  _ of that really. 

“Just bring yourself, I’ll take care of the rest. Does seven work for you?”

Oh seven was  _ going _ to work if Trini had any control of the situation, “I’ll see you then”

“Great!” Trini could hear the excitement in Emma’s voice, she must have a really cool recipe that she wanted to try out, “Bye Trini”

Once the Rangers were sure that Emma was off the phone call, Kimberly was the one to speak up first, “Oh, she’s  _ definitely  _ going to put out”

Trini sighed, great, this was what she  _ didn’t _ want...her best friends getting on her about her relationship. Kimberly was supposed to be on her side, “It’s just dinner...we can’t freaking make assumptions here”

“Crazy Girl….she invited  _ you _ to her  _ apartment _ to make  _ dinner _ .” Zack’s mastodon rammed into mama mantis to knock it back, “Yeah, she’s definitely planning on putting out”

“You can borrow my leather jacket again” Kimberly offered, she knew how nervous Trini would be about the situation and any confidence booster would be appreciated. 

“Alright team! Let’s finish off these bugs so Trini can get laid” Jason couldn’t help but chime in, Zack and Kimberly cheered for their great leaders statement. 

“You all are fucking assholes” Trini pouted, she loved her friends but  _ ugh _ this was so embarrassing, “Except for you Billy...you’re amazing”

“When we’re done squashing this bug, I’ll go to the florist with you” Billy offered, “Girls like flowers, and you really shouldn’t go empty handed” Billy Cranston, the blue ranger and sweetest soul on the planet made for a  _ real _ wingman.   
  
“Thank you _ Billy _ ” Trini gripped tightly on her zord’s blaster controls, “Now let's play exterminator and bomb these bugs” She couldn’t keep her special lady waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much again for the read!!
> 
> Next chapter tease--- A very special Megaforce Ranger.


	3. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are going stellar with Emma, so much that the ranger family finally want to meet the elusive girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um rating change just because this chapter gets a lil' raunchy. Probably the raunchiest in this fic. Haha. Hope you all enjoy!

Dinner at Emma’s was, of course, lovely. Trini was used to being the one to cook at home so it was refreshing to eat a home cooked meal prepared by someone else for a change. She didn’t come unprepared, Billy helped her pick out the right kind of flowers for the occasion. Nervous energy surrounded their conversation, taking their relationship to the next level had been on both of their minds. Emma had been the one to suggest taking their date to the bedroom, she _wanted_ Trini. That feeling in itself was new for the yellow ranger...being desired. _Trini Gomez_ never felt special, but to Emma...to Emma she was so interesting, exciting, she made her laugh, she made her feel alive.

Once they started to make love, Trini let Emma take more of a lead. Only one thing rang strongly in the back of Trini’s mind... _don’t break her_ . She had to hold her strength back, literally breaking her girlfriend in bed during their first time would probably be a deal breaker. To no surprise, Emma’s pacing had been soft and gentle, wanting to draw this out as long as possible by teasing the other woman. It took _everything_ in Trini’s power not to flip her onto her back and have her way with her. A swift move like that, uncontrolled, could snap Emma’s bed in half if she wasn’t careful. God. How could she explain _that_ one? Talk about a sex injury. She couldn’t be rough, she couldn’t risk that...and then Trini came...shit. Don’t hold onto Emma, don’t break her bones to ride this out. Don’t hold the headboard, that could snap clear off. Fuck. _Fuck how did the others do this without property damage?_

Don’t think about the others when in bed with a beautiful girl.

The orgasm only sparked Trini’s energy, to no surprise a Power Ranger had a crazy amount of endurance. Oh Emma was in for _quite_ a night. Trini of course wanted to return the favor, that was the polite thing to do...with such an endorphin rush she didn’t know what else to do with her hands otherwise. The last time she was intimate with a girl it was _before_ she became a power ranger, years ago, when she was still in high school. Well, her skills and muscle memory were quick to return. Just like riding a bike….except in this case the bike was another person.

Trini never thought she would ever have anything in common with the pink energizer bunny. She just kept going, and going, and going. Being fucked by a Power Ranger certainly had its benefits. By Emma’s third orgasm of the night, she couldn’t move from the waist down...that last one she came a bit hard. Her legs felt like jello, she completely melted into a puddle under Trini’s touch. A human couldn’t keep up with Trini’s enhanced endurance. Emma had to catch her breath...if this was their _first_ time...boy did she have something to look forward too.

No wonder Zack and Kimberly could have sex marathons when they visited one another during the year. Ugh. _Don’t think about the others._

Trini could go longer, she felt like she was only getting started but she exhausted out her girlfriend. That was okay. Trini got comfortable under the covers, wrapping her arms around Emma and holding the photographer close to her body. Emma’s world was still spinning, she idly traced her fingers along the contours of Trini’s abs, her head resting on Trini’s shoulder. “How are you not even tired?” She asked softly, surprised, that was easily the most intense session in the bedroom she had ever had. A welcome surprise.

“Uh” It wasn’t like she had a lot of sex as practice. That would _not_ be a good answer when sleeping with someone new for the first time. Trini gently ran her fingers through Emma’s hair, “Roller derby” She answered, as if that could cover her ass for everything.

Emma didn’t even question it, she couldn’t really process words, she was too much in a haze. The smaller framed girl simply nodded her head...she was tired, she was exhausted, “That was...that was amazing” Standing and walking was something she could worry about later.

Trini tilted her head, trying to examine the expression of the other girl, “Are you okay?” Genuinely she wanted to know, she needed to know if there was something she did wrong or too much of.

Emma could only nod her head yes. This was a total success. No property damage. No broken bones. The neighbors probably weren’t too thrilled hearing Emma’s pleasurable moans and groans...they _certainly_ could piece together by the constant repeating of Trini’s name that she had company. “Was _I_ okay?” Emma asked, the question laced with insecurity.

Oh no, that was not something she wanted Emma to feel. She’s just human. _That_ would not be an appropriate response. Trini lifted Emma’s chin to give her a _long_ reassuring kiss. It took everything in Trini’s power to not roll Emma back and go for another round...she couldn’t...Emma was only _human_ . “You are _amazing”_ Trini stroked through Emma’s locks of hair, quietly reassuring her in this delicate moment. Naked, vulnerable, yet Emma felt safe in Trini’s arms. No one could touch them in this apartment. Literally, Trini could go Lil’Diablo on anyone’s ass if they tried anything. She could keep her girl safe.

 _Her girl_.

 

*****

Like the pringles saying went, _once you pop, the fun don’t stop_. Trini had been spending _much_ more time with Emma. After work, after Emma’s classes, going out, staying in, she slept over her girlfriends house so often that she barely came home. Being _intimate_ with another person after so many years of loneliness; watching as her other friends had found love in one another, it was addicting to say the least. She could get wrapped up in Emma _every_ day if she could...days when the world didn’t need her to be the yellow ranger.

The pair were starting to become more attuned to the other’s body. While Emma didn’t have the physical stamina to keep up with Trini she learned other ways to excite her girl. One particular evening, once her lower half gave out, Emma made the suggestion for Trini to...in the politest way possible, sit on her face so she could return a particular favor. In theory it was a _great_ idea. Until Trini came, the yellow ranger gripping onto the wooden headboard so hard that it snapped. _Shit._

“What was that?” Emma had to ask what the source of the horrifying sound was, the girl taking pause in what she was doing.

“Fuck! I uh...I can fix that” Trini swallowed, holding chunks of Emma’s headboard in her hands, she had _no_ _idea_ how to fix that. Wood glue? She wasn’t sure. Asking Zack or Jason for advice probably wouldn’t be in the best of taste.

 _None of them could ever find out_.

 

*****

After a long shift at work Trini had finally returned to the Ranger house. As great as it was to be alone with Emma, to have someone who was _only_ hers, Trini needed to make appearances with her friends. _Outside of the workforce_ . Kimberly had been sitting on the couch, drinking out of a pink mug as if a parent waiting for their child to sneak into the house. “I see you’ve finally come up for air” Her brow arched, oh she knew exactly what phrase of the relationship Trini was settling into. The times where everything was _new_ and _exciting_ , when all a young couple wanted to do was to ignite some hot and heavy passion. Good times. Kimberly mused that she and Zack needed to take a weekend away, just the two of them.

“Ha...ah…well” Trini didn’t know what to say, it was pretty obvious by the past couple of weeks that she wasn’t just having _innocent_ sleepovers. “How was your day?” Kimberly tilted her head, _really?_ So she wasn’t the best at coming up with things.

“Oh you know” Kimberly did _not_ want to talk about hanging out with the boys, being _outnumbered_ by the boys.

Trini didn’t feel _so_ bad about that aspect. Most of the year, Kimberly had it easier by only having to deal with _Billy_. Trini on a daily basis had to deal with Zack and Jason’s shenanigans; pranks against one another. She loved her friends, she did, but they could be _such boys_ . Would it _kill_ them to leave the toilet seat down? Another bonus to sleeping over at Emma’s, ah her apartment always smelled nice.

No, the only thing Trini felt bad about was becoming _that_ girl. The one who would rather spend time with her girlfriend over her friends...over Kimberly. It wasn’t fair to her. Especially now that Trini didn’t get the opportunities to see her as much as she used to. Trini knew exactly how that felt...to be the one left behind. It wasn’t like Zack and Kimberly, and Jason and Billy did it on purpose...it just naturally happened. Trini Gomez perpetual fifth wheel.

When the yellow ranger came to join the pink on the couch, Kimberly had to ask, “When are we going to meet her?” Ah fuck. Trini took in a sharp breath, she was afraid of that, of her worlds colliding. Sex was a big step in their relationship, but bringing Emma over to meet her _family,_ she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. “She means _so_ much to you” All Kimberly wanted was to see if Trini was in good hands.

“Yeah, she does” Trini rubbed the back of her neck, meeting all four of them could be a _lot_ at once for a new person. Maybe if she took Emma out for coffee with just Kimberly, the girls, that wouldn’t be so bad. Trini’s best friend and girlfriend finally interacting, that wouldn’t be the _worst_ idea. “I dunno if I’m ready for that step...I like having something that’s…Trini’s...if that makes sense” Literally everything else in her life had been about being the yellow ranger, Emma was the _one_ person who could make _her_ feel special without a suit or superpowers.

“It does” Kimberly nodded her head in agreement, she knew when it came to Trini’s emotions she liked to be overly cautious. “I know I’m not around as much as I used to be” With college taking over, she couldn’t just visit whenever she wanted, essays and exams were now the pink rangers life. Any free time she had, usually went to Zack...the boyfriend. “But I’d like to meet her in person before going back for the fall” She couldn’t help but smile, “I can’t friend request her on Facebook until I see her”

“That’s a thing?” Zack asked, popping his head in from the kitchen. The shirtless black ranger had come down for a late night snack and like anyone with ears; was completely listening in on their conversation. “Oh see we’re already friends on Facebook”

The pink ranger and yellow ranger both blinked in surprise, in tandemly reacting with a _“What?”_ Kimberly had no idea her boyfriend was even up, let alone listening to their conversation-oh that could’ve been bad if she wanted to share any sort of stories. Trini was more upset that he went ahead and freaking friend requested the girlfriend. Oh god. What did he do? “...Have you talked to her?” Trini asked, slowly standing up from the couch, she was ready to try and make a grab for his phone...or just straight up hit him. “What did you _do?”_

“Why do you assume I’ve done anything?” Zack heard a noise come from his phone, oh sweet a new notification, he clearly didn’t understand the danger he was currently in. “Ah cool she accepted my friend request”

Kimberly didn’t like the sound of _that,_ the _girlfriend_ folded her arms, now joining Trini to gain some height. Her hot chocolate could be damned. “Zack...who exactly are you _friending?”_ And without telling her no less.

“Oh uh, Gia Moran. The bestie” Zack turned his phone in the direction of the pink and yellow rangers so they could see. “Should I say hi?”

“No!” Trini’s eyes widened in absolute _horror_ . She hadn’t met _any_ of Emma’s friends either and here her friend was trying to friend Emma’s friends. Ugh. This was _not_ how it was supposed to go down. As if on instinct Trini checked her own phone to see a friend request sitting in a queue. _Gia Moran_ . Son of a bitch. Now Emma’s friends were trying to friend Trini to do the _exact_ same thing...creep on her page to see if she was a shitty person or not. That and to look through photo albums. Oh god. Oh _god._ Her worlds were colliding too fast. She _had_ to accept the friend request, it would look awful if she hadn’t.

“Do _not_ interact” Kimberly pointed at her boyfriend as a warning, she was more concerned about Trini having a panic attack next to her. She needed to do things at her own pace, not this, “Hey it’s going to be _just_ fine” Trini waved her off, she was too busy scrolling through her own Facebook profile just trying to see if there was anything _embarrassing_ or worse, _incriminating._

“It’s not going to be _just fine_ we were freaking _Scooby Doo_ characters for Halloween!” A fun group of five to solve mysteries, it seemed like such a great idea at the time. Oh god. Based on what Trini had known about Gia...the badass blonde who rode a motorcycle, this was nothing but _dorky as fuck._ What a great first impression.

“Aw but you made such a cute Scooby” Kimberly tried to reassure her best friend but her efforts were met with a harsh scowl. Billy _had_ to be _male Velma_ . The fifth wheel of the group of course was chosen to be the famous great dane. Trini _hated_ her life in this moment here, finding a photo from the most recent Halloween. Zack and his stupid ascot, Kimberly looking adorable on his arm. Jason attempting to grow out  his hair for the role of Shaggy while Billy...well he was a _fine ass_ male Velma. Then there was Trini. Oh god. Oh _god._

“Just kill me, kill me now. Goldar please come up from your grave and just put me out of misery” Trini groaned, burying her face in her hands. This was the last time she would agree to a group _anything._ “I want to die”

“You’re just overreacting” Zack waved it off, what was the big deal? He didn’t get it. That was why he didn’t seem to think much of taking the step and friend requesting Emma’s main circle of friends. “Hey, this Jake Holling guy seems like my kinda dude”

 _“Stop”_ Trini had to sit back down, nope, this was _not_ happening.

Kimberly had to step over to Zack, taking his phone away, “You can have this in the morning”

The black ranger shook his head in disbelief, “What? Why the morning?” Kimberly’s brows rose suggestively, ah, two and two clicked together _real_ quick on what fun late night activity they would be participating in. “Oh” he grinned wide, “Gotcha”

Just then all _three_ phones lit with a new notification with a private invitation to go on a camping trip with Jason Scott. What did _he_ do? Kimberly was the first to open the exclusive event to see who exactly he included...Jason Scott, and Billy Cranston had been marked off as going while Kimberly Hart, Zack Taylor, Trini Gomez and...fucking hell; Emma Goodall had been sitting in the pending response category. Oh _no_ . Zack wasn’t the only one who had sent her girlfriend a friend request before meeting her. Without another word Kimberly stormed off upstairs, Jason was damn lucky she controlled her super strength when she banged on his door, “What are you doing!?” _Trini_ should be the one to invite her girlfriend to a _friend_ outing not freaking Jason Scott.

The red ranger opened the door, confused to why the pink ranger was _so_ furious with him, “Sitting in bed?”

“Hi Kim!” Billy’s voice could be heard from within the room.

“Hey Billy” She at least spoke sweetly to the blue ranger, Jason didn’t get that same luxury, “Are you stupid?”

“No?” Jason wasn’t sure what was happening, he was pretty sure he left the toilet seat down this time…

“Trini is _freaking out_ downstairs” Kimberly showed Jason the invitation off of Zack’s phone, “Camping trip? We’re going camping now?” She hissed, “You invited Trini’s girlfriend camping with us?”

“Oh, well, Billy and I were talking” Jason nodded his head in Billy’s direction, the blue ranger smiling in his boyfriend’s direction at the name drop, “Trini had been dating Emma for a couple of weeks now, and well, we wanted to _welcome_ her into the group” He smiled, proud of himself for making the effort of putting together an event. “We’re really happy that Trini’s found someone to make _her_ happy, why not celebrate? I thought it was a great idea” Now he wasn’t so sure.

Downstairs Trini had to quickly react and make a phone call to her girlfriend, _she_ needed to beat out Emma seeing the notification. Zack stood close, his hand over his mouth, watching his best friend in anticipation. “Heeey” She drawled out, hating talking on the phone, it was dire...there was no time to text. “Have you checked your notifications?”

“Mmm, no I just got out of the shower” There was a pause, “I’ve missed you” Nope, now was _not_ the time to be thinking about _that_. “What’s up?”

“Well ah” Trini swallowed the lump in her throat, Zack standing there watching her fumble with her words like an idiot wasn’t helping. “My friends and I were gonna go camping on….” Fuck she didn’t even _read_ the notification and Zack didn’t have his phone on him.

“Saturday!” Jason and Kimberly called from the top of the stairs, oh good, they could hear her struggle too. Being a power ranger with enhanced hearing was _great._

“This Saturday if you’re interested in coming along” Trini rubbed the back of her neck, Zack gave her a thumbs up, she could feel her cheeks heat up; she could break Emma’s headboard but asking her girlfriend to go camping was suddenly tough. “I ah, I know you said you’ve never gone before and--I totally get if you don’t want to but-”

“Are you kidding? That sounds like fun” To Emma her life had mostly been about class, her girlfriend, class, sex, class, going out and taking pictures, sex...this would be a great opportunity for her to branch out and meet more people. Besides, she had been wondering how long it would be for Trini to open up. Meeting her friends, this was a _big_ step in their relationship. “Do I need to bring anything?”

“Uh” Trini paused, putting a hand over her phone she looked to Zack, “Does she need to bring anything?”

There was _one_ thing Emma could get that the ranger gang couldn’t, “Booze” Trini should’ve seen _that_ coming. Dating a twenty one year old had it’s perks. The other rangers still had to rely on fake IDs.

“If you wouldn’t _mind_ supplying the alcohol” Trini could hear Emma’s soft laugh over the phone, “We’d pay you back obviously”

“Sure, of course, just send me a list of what to get and I’ll figure it out”

“Tell her to bring a sleeping bag!” Jason called from the top of the stairs, he wanted a break from being scolded by the pink ranger.

“She’d be sharing _mine_ dumbass” Trini bit back too quickly before realizing what she was implying.

Zack couldn’t hold back a “Hot damn crazy girl” to which he was rightfully punched in the arm for.

“You have plenty of time to back out of this” She sighed, this group of friends was so overwhelming and probably intimidating to anyone on the outside.

“I think it’ll be fun” Trini could feel that her girlfriend was smiling on the other end. Oh that poor sweet innocent girl had no idea what she was signing herself up for.  

“She said yes!” Billy exclaimed from Jason’s bedroom, he was the most excited to be meeting Trini’s girlfriend.

 _She said yes._ Worlds were going to crash.

 

*****

On route to the ranger home, Trini wanted to make sure that Emma would be more than prepared to deal with her friends. "Don't mind Zack, he's going to say something inappropriate, there's really _no_ way of preparing for whatever comes out of his mouth so I'm going to apologize now. Jason's pretty mellow...then there's Billy, he doesn't like being touched and he's-"

"Trini, relax" Emma reached over to hold her hand, trying to rest her mile a minute mind, "You've already told me about your friends, they sound like great people, I'm not worried at all"

"Okay, but Kimberly-" The best friend, the only _girl_ out of Trini's friends. She would be looking at this little meetup much differently then the boys would. God, Trini felt like she was taking Emma meet home to her parents-that would be even worse. Still, she just _knew_ Kimberly would be trying to look out for Trini's best interests-which yes very sweet, but she did _not_ need her best friend hassling Emma on their first encounter.

"Is your _best_ friend, almost like a sister. I understand. I've known Gia since I was five...trust me, I get it, her impression of me matters" Emma squeezed Trini's hand, how could this girl be so calm? She clearly didn't know she would be walking into a lion's den. "You're in your head, what's the worst that can happen?"

Trini couldn't the deadpanned response that escaped her lips, "The world could implode" Literally. That would be the worst that _could_ happen.

Emma took it as a joke, the photographer laughed, shaking her head at Trini's negativity. "Very funny" No, literally, alien invasions were very possible. "Back in high school I won senior superlative for "best to take home to mom and dad". I've got this in the bag" As if that was the only award in High School Emma could have one, best smile, most photogenic, nicest human being to walk the face of the Earth, Trini could think of a couple more off the top of her head. Compared to Trini, Emma was so starkly different, so warm...it was what attracted the yellow ranger the most. The other rangers would be crazy not to love this girl as much as Trini did.

By the time Emma pulled into the ranger driveway, the boys had just finished up packing up Jason's truck with the supplies that they would need. Kimberly started to head in the direction of Emma's car, wanting to be the first person to interact with Trini's elusive girlfriend. Emma rolled down her window so Kimberly could address the car, "Yeah, there's no way we're shoving six people into that truck. You mind driving? Boys car girls car?" She paused, right, she shouldn't be so rude, "Hi I'm Kimberly"

"Oh of course, not a problem" As long as Jason was leading, she had no problem following the truck into the mountainous path. "There's plenty of space" She nodded her head, a beat, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you"

Trini watched her best friend carefully as she got into the back seat of Emma's car. She didn't trust Kim's motives, nope, not one bit. To Emma it may have seemed like an all girls trip would be a nice way to ease into the group. Boy was she wrong. The easiest way of settling into the group was to start off with Jason and Billy. The ex-cheerleader spoke girl, where every question was laced with double meanings, hidden messages. "Sooo" Kimberly slid into the middle seat, leaning forward just as tad, Emma's pictures didn't do enough justice, she was stunning in person, "What's it like dating a younger woman?" Trini closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, this was going to be a long car ride.

Emma laughed, really, they didn't have much of an age difference. Only about two years, the only thing really separating them would be a bouncer at a 21 and over nightclub. "Well, I will say I never thought I'd be carded to see a rated R movie" Trini sunk into her chair as Kimberly laughed, yeah, real funny Kim; yuk it up. Nothing like being mistaken for a high schooler. Once their laughter subsided Emma chanced a question to Kimberly, "So do you do roller derby too?"

Kimberly glanced over to Trini, unsure which part of the lie she had to participate in. "I've dabbled, but with school I don't really have much time to keep up with it" The yellow ranger nodded, that was a good response to the question. "I'm not as hardcore as Mamacita over here"

Emma understood enough Spanish to know what Kimberly had just implied. She sharply exhaled through her nose, her mouth twitching into a smile, she didn't want to laugh. It was _really_ hard for the photographer to keep it in when Trini kept pouting.

"Lil'Diablo" Trini corrected, proud of the fake roller derby name that she had given herself.

"Close enough" Kimberly shrugged, now she was just having fun teasing her.

"What was your derby name Kim?" Emma asked, genuinely wanting to get to know the girl Trini called her best friend. “When you dabbled”

"Oh, Kimmie here's _The Ballbuster"_ Trini smugly smiled, answering for Kimberly before the other girl could even open her mouth. The two power rangers exchanged a look, Kim shook her head at her ass of a friend, oh it wasn’t like she deemed her the _Dicksnapper_. Payback would be a bitch.

“Very threatening” Emma stated, it was supposed to be a compliment, “I’m definitely not tough enough to do anything like _that._ Trini insists that I take a self defense class”

“It’s because you can’t throw a punch” Trini wanted Emma to know some basics, Angel Grove wasn’t just like any other ordinary town. Shit got crazy fast, and if Emma was going to live here on a more permanent basis...she had to be prepared for literally anything. “I just want you to be prepared”

“You’re sweet” The photographer’s thumb stroked Trini’s hand, “Don’t worry, I signed up for sessions on campus. I think I still have a flyer somewhere in the car…”

Trini found said flyer in the passengers car door, eight sessions with Tommy Oliver. Kimberly’s ex-boyfriend. “Hey Ballbuster” She showed Kimberly the flyer, he didn’t seem to go very far after High School. The yellow ranger tried not to laugh at her best friends expense but woo that brought up some memories. “Take a look at this”

“Do you guys know him or something?” Clearly there was something Emma wasn’t exactly getting.

“Oh I don’t know him very well but Kim knows him pretty _intimately”_ Trini couldn’t hold back a laugh, it shouldn’t be funny, she was dating a human now herself after all.

Kimberly shook her head, she knew what Trini was doing, the more attention that was put on _Kim_ the less attention could be put on _Emma_ . There would be no interrogation on this car ride, Trini would be sure of it. “We dated briefly in high school, no big” She would _not_ be sharing on how that relationship ended.

The conversation kept light as they followed the boys up the mountain. Little things like where Trini had taken Emma in Angel Grove; Kimberly insisting that she needed to take Emma out to _actual_ cool places. Kimberly going through Emma’s playlists to see what kind of music Trini’s girlfriend was into. She definitely wasn’t the hardrocker type, her taste leaned on softer side, so starkly different from Trini. It didn’t take much for to understand what Trini saw in the other girl. Around Emma, Trini smiled more...she just felt _lighter,_ happy for a change. The pink ranger wasn’t blind, she knew Trini had been a bit depressed this past year. Everyone was moving on with their lives while the yellow ranger was stuck in neutral.     

Once they reached the campsite, the girls were quick to help the boys set up their tents. Billy and Jason were pretty attuned to one another, both having experience out in the wilderness. Zack and Kim spent more time arguing about where to shove a pole than making actual progress. The two were a complete disaster at getting a tent upright. So much so that Jason broke the two apart so he could do it himself. Trini and Emma were faring much better, Trini stealing glances at any given opportunity.

After the campsite was settled, Billy and Jason led the other four through the trails. Emma taking as many pictures as she could along the way, hoping that she could use some of the photos from this weekend for her class. At the top of the trail, overlooking the canyons below, Emma insisted that she take a group photo of Trini and her friends. “If you don’t take pictures now, you’ll regret it when you’re eighty and have nothing to look back on” Emma understood just how important these four people were in Trini’s life, they weren’t just roommates or friends from high school. This group was family. Moments like this needed to be cherished.

“So Emma” Billy wanted a chance to get to know Trini’s girlfriend, “Outside of photography, what other hobbies do you have?”

There it was, that sunshine smile, “Well, recently I’ve gotten into jogging”

“Oh! That’s cool, running is great for building endurance” He racked his brain for any events that were happening near Angel Grove, “Are you training for a marathon?”

“...Mmm…” Emma sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck, “You could say something like that” Oh god. Trini realized what _that_ meant. Having sex with a power ranger equated to preparing for a marathon.

Jason, for once, stepped up by volunteering to cook everyone dinner. He was much better at dealing with a grill or an open flame compared to a stove. Zack made a campfire in the center of the circle while the girls, and Billy, had the luxury of watching the men in the group do all the work. “Mmm” Kimberly was quick to make the observation, “It’s so nice to not be outnumbered anymore” Three boys, and with Emma...three girls.

Emma thanked Jason kindly for taking the time and preparing dinner for everyone before asking something that had been on her mind for the entire day, “So...are we really not going to talk about the Power Rangers?” She asked, looking at each and every one of Trini’s friends expressions, they all were glancing nervously at one another. Odd. “This is where they first showed up” Trini started to rub Emma’s back with her free hand, “Trini and I were _saved_ by them, they’re incredible”

If Emma wanted to talk power rangers, these five were going to have to tread lightly. Zack was never the shy one, “Yeah! The Power Rangers are really cool” He smugly grinned, he was the one that whisked Emma out of that cave, so naturally he _had_ to ask, “Which one is your favorite?”

“Oh” Emma scratched the back of her ear, her cheeks reddening, Trini knew _exactly_ who she was going to say. “The pink one” Her gallant knight in black armor was crushed to learn that his _girlfriend_ was the favorite and not _him._ Oh the betrayal cut deep. “Trini makes fun of me for it, but she’s kind of my celebrity crush” Kimberly _certainly_ perked up at being the favorite, oh _great_ , Trini was never going to hear the end of _that_ one.

 _“Really now?”_ Kimberly was _too_ intrigued at Emma’s confession, Trini sent a glare in the pink rangers direction. A warning that Kim needed to calm her pterodactyl tits. “I really don’t blame you, I mean, she has an amazing body” She paused, “Is that a fantasy of yours?”

Trini wanted to scream, this was _such_ an unfair way to get back at her for the Tommy Oliver thing in the car. “You do not have to answer that” Was she freaking kidding right now? No, Kim definitely wanted to hear that Emma wanted to see Trini in _pink_ more often.

“Oh” She breathed out, taking a long sip of her drink, these were all new people and this was a crackerjack way to make a good first impression. “It’s okay, I’m sure everyone’s had a sexy dream about a Power Ranger…”

“She’s right” Zack confirmed with a nod, “I too have had sex dreams about the pink power ranger” He was _far_ too smug for this. Jason had to shove food in his mouth to prevent himself from laughing.

Kimberly shook her head, it was so hard for her not to _overreact_ to her boyfriends statement, she just playfully shoved his shoulder, “You would”

“Okay, but seriously guys. The _yellow_ ranger, amirite?” Trini tried to interject, really, all she wanted was to get Emma off of this pink kick. If her friends would stop being assholes for two seconds and help her with her goal, that would be amazing.

Like a _good_ friend Kimberly enthusiastically nodded, “The yellow ranger, oh yeah definitely, super hot. I’d _so_ tap that”

“She’s got an amazing ass” Zack added, to which _that_ earned a stern look from the pink ranger.

“Uh” Jason blinked, this was supposed to be a helping moment, “Great boobs”

“I like her zord” Billy added, smiling wide, “It’s a sabertooth tiger”

Well they tried.

“You’ve trained them well” Emma murmured under her breath, oh she knew exactly what Trini was doing….well, she thought she did. “I know you think the yellow ranger is the sexiest, but...I’m not going to change my mind, I’m sorry” Oh fuck off Kim. Trini could feel the pink ranger looking in their direction. “If it makes you feel any better, my best friend Gia would agree with you” _Great_ . Emma’s best friend had the hots for the _yellow ranger._ That did _not_ make Trini feel any better.

“Well my favorite ranger is the red ranger” Billy interjected, wanting to take the conversation back to something more simple.

Jason smiled at his answer, “Yeah? Well mines the blue” Oh get a room, those two were too freaking adorable it was disgusting.

“Obviously my favorite is the pink” Zack added, following the trend of being sweet and picking their significant other over their _own_ ranger.

“Mine too” Kimberly would have to agree, much to Zack’s surprise “The pink one obviously is the best” Oh the betrayal.

“Tch, whatever. The _yellow_ one is better. C’mon, if the pink ranger and the yellow ranger got into a fight who do you think would actually win? It sure wouldn’t be the pink ranger” Trini challenged, yeah, they were going to duke it out in their next sparring session. Kimberly’s brows rose, she was _not_ afraid of the pint sized ranger in the ring.

“Why would they fight?” Emma interjected, “The pink ranger and yellow ranger _wouldn’t_ fight they’re friends. They’re above fighting one another” She paused, “Besides why is it that whenever someone talks about the power rangers, it has to be who would win a fight pink or yellow? It’s sexist”

Trini leaned over to kiss the side of her girlfriend’s head, “You have to stop looking at Facebook comments” Trini learned that hard lesson awhile ago. People on social media were the absolute worst when it came to commenting on ranger related news articles.  

When the conversation had died down a bit, Kimberly brought up a bit of a sensitive subject, “So Emma, what’re your plans when the summer semester ends?” The elephant in Trini and Emma’s relationship. A topic that the couple didn’t want to discuss, not yet, not when everything was so carefree and full of one another. “Are you going to stay in Angel Grove?”

Trini could feel Emma shifting uncomfortably next to her. That was a _loaded_ and unfair question to come and blindside the girlfriend. Trini _knew_ Kimberly was sitting on something big, she just didn’t expect it coming at Emma during their _first_ freaking dinner out. “Well” She glanced in Trini’s direction, this answer was more for _her_ than her friends, “I’ve been thinking about that a lot actually, especially recently”

“You don’t have to answer that” Not here, not like _this_. As much as Trini burned to know what the answer to Emma’s question was. Their relationship had a timeclock.

“No, I do” Emma avoided making eye contact with her girlfriend, to look in Kimberly’s direction, “I know you’re just looking out for Trini...you’re a good friend” To the ranger gang, Emma probably came off as this lost artist who at any moment could pick up and go back home to Harwood County. That this relationship with their friend was only casual sex, a fun summer memory. “I extended my lease and I will be signing up for a fall program”

“You shouldn’t stay here because of me” Great, now all of her friends were watching her have this important discussion with her girlfriend. “I’m not worth that” The last thing she wanted was for Emma to hold herself back from an opportunity.

“I want more time to establish my portfolio and try new techniques. There’s still so much I need to learn” She reached her hand forward to caress Trini’s cheek, making sure the other girl would look in her direction, “Spending more time with you, well, that’s just the best bonus I could ask for. I want to see where this takes us”

Trini leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend’s lips, _god_ this girl made her so freaking happy. When she pulled away from the kiss, she glared off in Kimberly’s direction, “Can we have a word?”

The pink ranger saw that coming, “Sure” She sent Emma an apologetic smile as she followed Trini to the trail. Truly she felt bad for calling her out in front of the group...but she needed to know.

As soon as they were far enough away, Trini swiftly turned around and snapped, “What the _hell_ was _that?_ You freaking ambushed her! That was _not_ cool Kim.” She poked at Kimberly’s chest, Lil’Diablo was ready for a fight, “She pass your little test?”

Kim folded her arms, appearing as cool, calm and collected as ever, “She did. I don’t want to see you strung along. I know how much she means to you, that a relationship means to you. I didn’t want you to get hurt” Kimberly wasn’t in Angel Grove as much as she could’ve been, the boys, they weren’t going to look out for her in the same way a best girl friend would.

“That was a conversation we should’ve had in private” Trini ran her fingers through her hair, she had to process Emma’s response, her girlfriend was _extending_ her stay in Angel Grove. “You better the hell apologize to her”

“I will, I will” Kimberly stepped forward, resting her hands on Trini’s shoulders. Emma was right. The pink and yellow rangers were _friends_ they weren’t going to fight. “We’re power rangers, we have to be careful of who we let into our lives and I wanted to make sure that your heart…” She sighed, “I wanted to make sure your heart was in a safe place. The four of us, we lucked out, we found each other but for you? ...That girl could be _anyone_ with an ulterior motive”

“That girl is full of sunshine, rainbows and puppy smiles. There isn’t a single mean bone in her freaking body Kim. She’s not a spy or an alien or a stupid robot from the machine empire”

“No, you’re right, she’s not” Kimberly never believed Emma was actually an agent of evil to try and infiltrate the power rangers, “She’s human, which makes her that more dangerous” She glanced back in the direction of the campfire. Jason, Billy and Zack were smiling and making that girl laugh, “Because you’re in love with her”

“Ha” Trini scoffed out a laugh, a simple reflection, “I am not” They weren’t even dating that long, that...that would be utterly ridiculous…

“I don’t want you to get caught up in something so fast, only for that to shut in your face” Kimberly sighed, she knew she was in the wrong, “I want you to be happy Trini...and who knows...maybe she’s the one. She definitely has my stamp of approval”

“Hmph” Trini narrowed her eyes, she wasn’t totally done being mad at her best friend-but she understood where she was coming from, “That’s only because she picked the pink ranger as her favorite”

“What can I say? Emma has good taste” Kimberly smiled fondly at her best friend, “She picked you”

 

*****

 

That night Emma cuddled up with her girlfriend, resting her head against Trini’s chest sharing a sleeping bag was the most ideal for their camping situation. Trini idly stroked her fingers through her girlfriend’s hair, _her girlfriend_ was staying in Angel Grove longer….a great sign that this could mean something more than just a summer fling. “I’m sorry about Kim”

“It’s okay, she’s only looking out for you” Emma didn’t even seem phased, “She apologized to me earlier”

“Oh” Trini swallowed, the roof of the tent didn’t compare to the starry night sky, “I promise, she really does like you” So did the other guys, Emma fit into her group so easily, as if that was hard.

“You don’t have to worry about me” Emma sat up, kissing Trini, “Um, though, speaking of best friends” Trini swallowed, her heart was thumping against her chest, “Gia’s actually coming to visit next week” _Fuck_.

Emma could make a stellar first impression on the ranger family, but Trini? Making a _good_ impression on Emma’s childhood best friend. _Shit_. No pressure at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised that Gia would be coming around earlier, buuut she'll be a prominent role in the next chapter. Also :) shits about to get real.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this little crossover ship <3
> 
> 2 Chapters to Go :) we're only just touching the surface


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